


Space Oddity

by GreenPointyEaredBastard



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Anal Sex, Developing Relationship, Doctors, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Flirting, M/M, Medical Examination, Medicine, Missions Gone Wrong, New Vulcan, Oral Sex, Past Abuse, Rescue Missions, Romance, Secrets, Starfleet, Starfleet Academy, Vaginal Sex, Vulcan Biology, Vulcan Kisses, Vulcan Language, Vulcan Mind Melds, Vulcans and Chocolate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-04-30 04:20:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 150,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14488683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenPointyEaredBastard/pseuds/GreenPointyEaredBastard
Summary: Join the enterprise crew as they set out back into space after the events of star trek beyond with additions to their already disfunctional space family. Jim is having mixed emotions about his best friend getting close with a woman for the first time in years whilst dealing with certain problems of his own, a problem with pointed ears and a known it all attitude. Bones didn't realise just how bad he'd gotten at reading signals until she showed up, the only thing he was reading loud and clear was the she was a tease with a smart mouth, and he was definately to old for this shit. I suck at summaries! Bones x Oc AND Spock x kirk





	1. A good feeling

_hello! So first time I've wrote in a good while (been atleast a couple of years now) but I was inspired by a story written by XeroXiiva over on archive of our own called 'the Simulation' it's amazing I definitely recommend you give it a read if you're into kirk x Spock and deep story lines._

_I know some people don't like Oc's in fan fiction but it's always worth giving them a chance, if you don't like an oc then there's nothing forcing you to continue reading. Anyway, this story is gunna be **Bones x Oc AND kirk x Spock** , so as per usual it's definitely going to contain alot of drama, innuendo, dangerous missions, wild emotions and of course some sweet sweet sexual tension ;) hopefully with some nifty twists to keep you all interested along the way. Anyway I hope you enjoy and stick along for the journey!_

_Apologies for any spelling errors I don't have anyone to look over this for me to check for errors :') but reviews are always welcome even if its if constructive criticism. This story is also over on fanfiction! Where it originally started. Under the same user name and story name. Enjoy!_

 

* * *

Kirk sat back in his chair sighing, relishing in the thought that he'd somehow made it to his thirtieth birthday without dying. Well he technically did die but,  _technicalities_ , he was 'barely dead' as bones had put it.

He swirled the whiskey around in his glass looking down at the amber liquid in contemplation.

He really put his crew through hell these past years and they had no idea the gratitude he had towards them, well maybe an inkling but none of them could really know just how much appreciated and well, loved them all.  _Apart from Bones because yano that'd just be weird ew, and Spock, jesus. And Uhura that just kinda seemed inappropriate now an_ \- that wasn't the point. He DID love his crew, he needed them just as much as they needed him. They were like a family. They supported each other, encouraged each other and when the time arose, called each other out on their bullshit.

And yet again after a successful mission, in which the crew and himself had saved the people of York town and admittedly gotten their ship destroyed  _again_  along the way.  _He swore Scotty would have his head one of these days_. They were months from setting off again to complete their five year mission,  _to boldly go where no man has been before._

The ship was almost finished, he had an amazing new addition to the family in the form of their new found companion and friend Jaylah. Someone he had no doubt was going to make a great engineer under the watchful eye and great teachings of his chief engineer Montgomery Scott, and without her they would have surely failed in defeating Kral in the end. Everything was going to work out just fine and he knew it, with Spock by his side, and the help of his best friend Bones and the rest of the crew they were a tangible force to be reckoned with.

"what're you looking so smug about?" Bones grunted from across the room, downing the last of his whiskey and coming to sit next to his close friend he pulled up a stool near kirk's arm chair and got himself as comfortable as he could in the cramped space that was his current sleeping quarters.

"I've just got a feeling everything's gonna turn out great" he beamed at his cmo. "I have the best crew in starfleet bones and nothing can beat us" he wouldn't admit that the generous amount of whiskey he and bones had consumed that night had started to slowly take effect on him about an hour ago. He was fine,  _peachy even!_  He just felt so positive right now.

"best crew in starfleet, but I wouldn't go as far to say nobody can beat us Jimbo, the amount of times I've seen you and Spock in the sickbay over the years is Un nerving to say the least, and let me tell you that number only keeps getting higher!" Bones' southern accent was thick but he was deadly serious in what he said. A familiar frown forming on the man's face as he looked up to his captain covering his face with his palm. "what?"

"way to ruin the mood Bones." kirk grumbled into his hand before dropping it to his lap.

"I hate to break it to ya Jim but it's true, I find myself constantly thinking 'when's the next time those damn idiots are gonna be getting wheeled through that door.' The amount of carnage that comes our way we're overwhelmed with patients constantly Jim, even with me and nurse chapel, it's just not enough." Leonard sighed leaning forward elbows now on his knees, resting his head in his hands. "I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker God damn it man!" Bones grit out, not angry but notably frustrated.

Jim sighed, he could obviously understand his friends frustration but he had no idea how to help the man, unless…

"Alright Bones, you have a point." kirk nodded picking up his data padd lazily he started typing into it frantically.

"My god, the last thing I was expecting was for you to actually agree with me, especially without any sort of argument, Jim what're you d-"

Jim held up the data padd with enthusiasm so bones could clearly see the screen "what about this guy then, amazing credentials and years of experience." He watched as bones' eyes widened in surprise.

"wait wha- you're being serious." Bones questioned, looking at kirk like he was some kind of alien imposter.

"deadly serious bones, you've just made it crystal clear that you're understaffed and then I remembered, hey, I'm a starfleet captain, I can fix that." kirk smirked more to himself than to McCoy, he couldn't help but inwardly laugh at Leonards surprise.

bones leaned in to look at the screen more intently "he's 55 Jim I don't think at that age he'll be able to keep up, his heart certainly won't with all the stress." he deadpanned.

"God you're so picky, his quote is pretty boring though 'I live to serve' who says that, literally nobody says that and it makes no sense coming from a medical officer." Jim clicked off the profile and kept scrolling, he'd got up a list of all of yorktowns' medical officers, and he'd done it quite legally  _thankyou very much_ , no hacking required as it was all public records.

"I'm the picky one, you've just made a comment on some poor guys quote that they probably forced him to come up with in the first place." Bones rolled his eyes.

"This one?"

"To young."

"Fine, what about this one?"

"Heart condition."

"This is a lot harder than I thought it would be." Kirk admitted scanning the page in frustration until he came across an entry that didn't have a picture attached to it, either that or there was an error with this certain image file, either way he was Intrigued. He clicked on the page reading thoroughly through the credentials.

"Jesus all of that at only 28? And a degree in advanced psychology just to top it all off. I think my head would explode." McCoy commented in disbelief, leaning even closer to the data padd now as both him and Jim continued to read.

"She can speak vulcan as well." Jim's eyebrows lifted in interest.

"Now now let's not get carried away I wanna see if she's got anything wrong with her." Bones took control of the data padd and scrolled down further. "occasionally suffers from severe migraines." He grumbled as he continued to read outloud "two recorded violent outbursts on file. Footage [Withdrawn from public domain]..."

"Cmon bones she sounds like she'd be up for the job, you gotta have a little faith in people yano, it clearly states that she's very physically healthy, and look at those credentials, everything you need in a medical officer and then some." Jim looked sternly at his cmo willing him to atleast try and see that the positives far outweighed the negatives.

"Jim I don't want a crazy woman destroying my sick bay!"

"twice bones, out of the God knows how many years she's lived here. TWICE. And it clearly states in the description that she is dedicated to her position has always put the patient's needs before her own even in times of great stress [details redacted], look see in black and white there."

"every doctor is supposed to do that Jim -"

"no no they're not, I've heard of people cracking under the pressure and let me tell you, YOU are the only doctor that I know for a fact would put his patient's life before his own, even if you had been shot or injured yourself."

"Okay okay point made, I'm an idiot." Bones grunted.

"and even look at her 'quote' aparently she didn't give one so somebody quoted something from her instead [edited by (redacted) ] "if you don't stop coming in here and disrupting my patients I'll tie everything down there in a knot so tight your bladder will eventually implode."

"I can't tell if I should be turned on or terrified." Bones grimaced at the mental images of the threat being carried out. Kirk just laughed, he was in full on guffaws, leaning back into his arm chair holding his stomach.

"Bones." he managed to control himself enough to settle down but a smug and entertained look was plastered on his face. "she sounds exactly like you, you just threaten with hypos instead, it sounds like she has a knack for dealing with bullshit though."

"and just what are you implying, old man." Bones poked, looking extremely un amused at his friend being so entertained at his expense.

"well she definitely gonna need to be able to deal with bullshit working with y- Oww! Bones!" he rubbed his arm where his cmo had just whacked him.

"there isn't even a picture of her how am I supposed to get an even slight judge of character from a written description?!"

"there's this thing called a search engine Bones you might have heard of it" Kirk chided, his fingers moving quickly over the keyboard.

DR ALEX DEMORA REID YORKTOWN STARFLEET

And as suspected the first thing that came up was a Facebook profile account, the fact that social media was somehow still around surprised him aswell but here he was looking up a possible future crew member on Facebook. He wondered for a second what spock would think of him doing this, probably  _illogical_. He pushed the thought aside, he and McCoy were just curious is all, he clicked the link leaning back as he did so without realising Bones could no longer see the screen.

"Holy hell" Jim remarked trying to take in the entirety of her appearance but failing to do so all at once as he stared continuously at her profile picture.

"What's wrong now, show me the damn screen man she can't be that ba-" Bones stop dead in what he was saying when he actually had hold of the device.

Staring back at him were a pair of bright green eyes under thick lashes, a perfectly shaped face with high cheek bones and a button nose with a light scattering of what appeared to be freckles over the bridge of her nose and cheeks, a pale expanse of milky white skin over a flawless bone structure. Not to mention the mane of curly red hair that was swung over her shoulders. And that smirk.

"Well I was not expecting that." McCoy practically whispered. His eyes still glued to the photo before him.

"What's wrong Bones? Not enough experience handling redheads?" Kirk wiggled his eyebrows playfully, noticing the immediate wave of annoyance in his cmo who just told him to 'shut up, you ass hat.' So obviously this was the one they agreed on hey at least he'd now had more material to make digs at bones with now, since you know, he was still staring at the data padd. "You know she's British aswell right? I don't think I've heard a British accent in a long time."

Bones rolled his eyes scrolling down the Facebook page a little more. "well atleast I know she can take someone down if need be…"

"what?"

Bones turned the data padd to face kirk showing him a video of what appeared to be their doctor practising a form of martial arts as she skillfully swung herself round a man a lot taller and bigger than herself, and got him into a choke hold pulling him to the ground, the man writhed around before tapping out.

"well she can wrap her legs around me like that any time."

"Jim." Bones looked at him in disbelief.

"cmon it was a joke bones, but seriously I've never seen a woman that actually visibly has a fair bit of muscle pull off the look before. They either go to much and go all veiny turning their boobs into muscle, or are just incredibly lean which don't get me wrong can look great but a lot of the time makes em look really weirdly frail. She looks firm but squishy if that makes sense..."

"is this just going to turn into you pinning after one of my medical staff."

"No Bones of course not, but you can't seriously tell me you don't think she's attractive?!"

"I'm not saying a word."

"So you do then." Jim deadpanned.

"No I don't!"

"So you think she's ugly."

"Wha- of course not i-"

"I love messing with you Bones." Kirk chuckled "but we're off duty I'm not gonna kill you for admitting someone of the opposite sex is hot."

Bones considered him for a second before sighing putting his head in his hands once again. "I don't want to be distracted while I'm working, by a fine pair of legs in one of those damned starfleet regulation dresses." his words were muffled by his hands that currently covered his face, despite this he still sounded as though he was in deep despair over the situation .  _He was a doctor, but he was also a man God damn it!_

"I never knew you had a thing for legs Bones." Jim grinned, winding his friend up never got old.

Bones sighed from his little rant looking up at Jim with tired eyes. "I hate women Jimbo, witches, the lot of them."

Jim couldn't help but laugh the alcohol had definitely took hold of them both at this point his cmo genuinely looked scared. He quickly checked his watch and was shocked to see it was almost 1 o'clock in the morning. "m sorry Bones but I'm gunna have to get going, Spock is probably wondering where I am he wanted to talk to me about something or other an hour ago." Jim whined, he wasn't prepared to deal with his moody first officer.

"he wanted to talk to you about something at midnight?" Bones face went from confused to mischievous in a split second. " really Jim, you and the hobgoblin? I'm sure that's exactly what you're going to do, go upstairs and 'talk'." Bones made a gesture with his hands mockingly.

"Oh shut up Bones, he knows I've been getting back from the bar at around midnight the last couple of nights is all. Said he wanted to discuss something with me before I 'retired for the evening'. Get your head out the gutter, you old pervert." Jim grumbled, half heartedly glaring at the man now sarcastically nodding from his stool with raised brows.

"Uhuh, sure Jimmy, sure. Now get your ass outta here and run back into that hobgoblins arms."

"I hate you Bones."

"Yea yea. G'night, Jimbo." And with that Bones shut the door.


	2. Bedside Manner

Oh God here I go with chapter number 2 I'm trying to make this slow build as possible but I get distracted so easily by writing the more interesting scenes. Honestly if it's not flowing well enough you gotta let me know  _especially_ in future chapters. I don't want to make it seem like the characters are rushed together and stuff like that.

Anyway enjoy please review!

* * *

"What do you mean you've already met her!? I'm the one that's meant to be working with her God damn it!" Bones fumed walking briskly alongside the captain and first officer.

"your anger is illogical Doctor, though I have not had sufficient time to observe her I can deduct that she will indeed be a great addition to the medical team, and the captain assures me that Dr Reid and yourself will most definitely get along."

"Somehow that doesn't inspire confidence in me."

"cmon Bones you're gonna love her, stop grumbling like a grandad." Kirk grinned elbowing his cmo slightly.

The halls of the ship were all pristine and new, technically a different ship but still shaped like there old silver lady the enterprise. This was the enterprise-A and she was roaring and ready to go. Of course there had been some improvements made some of which Jim didn't like so much because it made it so obvious that is was another ship, for example the med bay, was now a pristine white and silver with no red walls and now had additional rooms. Bones had talked him into this of course. As they approached the transporter room they heard chatter, one voice was distinctly very Scottish.

"gorgeous ship Mr Scott."

"Ahh that she is Doctor, that she is. she'll always be my silver lady, you can count on me to take good care of her even with her new upgrades, I just hope the captain will take it easy with her broke my heart knowing she would never fly again."

A small melodical laugh escaped the other person. "well I'll also be counting on you to keep me from being torn into a million pieces in this transporter Mr Scott, and please you can call me Alex."

"yes ma'am." Scotty joked.

"Scotty!" Jim entered the room with his two followers clasping the man on the shoulder in a friendly gesture "it's good to be back." he smiled then lifted his gaze to the redhead occupying the space in front if Scotty's desk.

"That it is captain, Captain as you know this is the new medical officer Dr Reid, I'm sorry for not waiting till you were here to beam her up sir she was ready a couple of minutes early and I saw no harm in it as long as she consented to stay in the transporter room till your arrival." the Scottsman looked rather confident in his judgement but there was a hint of hesitation in his voice which Jim of course picked up on.

"Don't worry about it Mr Scott, no harm done we haven't even taken off yet." Jim gave Scotty a quick nod then re directed his gaze towards the rather tall female figure infront of him who Bones would be delighted to know was not wearing a starfleet regulation dress but instead starfleet regulation shirt and trousers, though the trousers did seem to be rather figure hugging... It took him a second to realise she wasn't infact staring at him but behind him. "pleasure to meet you again Doctor. This here as you know is Commander Spock and this here, is Bones."

McCoy gave Jim a death glare before softening his features and reaching out his hand giving a gentle handshake "The names Leonard McCoy sweetheart, I hope you're ready to deal with an absolute shit storm, because these two are gonna be our most regular patients."

"Bones!"

"I'm telling the woman the truth Jim."

"I'll make sure to keep that in mind darling, now don't you all think it'd be appropriate that we continue this conversation on our way to the sick bay?" if the hand on her hip and the confidence of her voice was anything to go by Leonard was gunna have his hands full.

Bones was stunned, and Jim was actually chuckling out loud to himself, it was Spock that replied with what appeared to be a small but noticeable upwards tug to his lips. "most logical doctor if you would follow me." Spock lead her out of the transporter room and began the walk to the sick bay. Noticing passers by giving them a rather Unnecessary amount of attention.

" _Are they following Commander Spock_?" She spoke in vulcan incase they were close behind, though her accent wasn't perfect it was more than adequate and much better than any other humans attempt that he had encountered so far. He would have to enquire as to how she was able to grasp the pronunciation of vulcan so well at a later date.

" _I believe so, I can distinguish rushed footsteps over the laughter of the chief engineer_." Spock looked down at the medical officer by his side who was now wearing a smirk. " _though I found your method of shutting Dr McCoy up quite amusing I am struggling to understand your reasoning behind doing so, do you not respect him_?"

" _On the contrary Commander it's quite the opposite, I have respect for him as a doctor, in studying human psychology I have learned a lot about the workings of the human mind and how we communicate. I came to the conclusion that Dr McCoy was in fact trying to make me feel comfortable in our short exchange by including his jibe about yourself and the captain being constantly in the sickbay."_ she paused glancing back for a second. " _The reason for me saying what I said was merely a form of breaking the ice so to speak, in making a small jibe towards him as you all seem to make towards each other as Coworkers and close friends, I believe that in the long run, it will make our working relationship a lot smoother_."

" _I believe I understand, thank you doctor. Without meaning to cause offence however, I do believe that Dr McCoy reacted the way he did due to you being a woman. There are not a lot of people on this ship that understand, let alone challenge the doctors strange form of humour_.  _And I have never witnessed a female officer on this ship counter him with his own humour."_ Spock spoke quickly as he could hear footsteps getting closer.

" _No offence taken Commander, that piece of information is actually very useful, thankyo-"_

"are you two chatting in vulcan!" Jims head popped around at Spock's side before he fully caught up with them a look of disbelief on his face.

"indeed we were Captain" Spock eyed McCoy up who was now caught up and on the right side of Dr Reid looking rather confused.

"what were you talking about?" Kirk questioned, a small smile appearing on his face at how well things were going so far.  _If Bones ruins this then so help me, he better not send her running._

"we were discussing Dr McCoy." was all the information Spock gave, walking hands behind back as always but awaiting a reaction from the cmo.

"Not even started working yet and you already can't get me out of your mind." Bones joked, giving her a devious smirk.

"Bones may a I remind you that you're not here to flirt." Kirk spoke in his best 'I'm the captain voice' as they approached sick bay.  _Bones is definitely going to send her running._

"it was all good things I promise." Alex raised her hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Well in that case, if there's anything these legendary hands can help you with Doc then don't hesitate to let me know." Bones declared as they finally entered sick bay, a mischievous smirk still plastered on his face, he hated to admit it but Jim was right when he'd said he'd like her. The woman actually had a sense of humour.

He heard a sigh from Jim as he walked to his desk "Bones what did i just say about flirting?"

"Captain we are needed on the bridge I am confident Dr McCoy can familiarise Dr Reid with the sick bay and his equipment."

There was a squeaking noise that was promptly halted by Dr Reid covering her mouth and then coughing rather oddly. Though her facial expressions didn't suggest she was in any discomfort or distress at all. Bones finally clicked on to the innuendo the vulcan undoubtedly accidentally implied and his usual frown took its rightful place in his face. "alright you perverted hobgoblin get out of here, get out of here the both of ya!" and with that Spock and Jim both scarpered for fear of being hypod.

Bones finally sat down at his desk letting out a huge sigh with a low chuckle. Because let's be honest, intentional or not, it was even funnier that it came out of  _Spocks_  mouth rather than Jims.

"I'm sure there's no reason for you to feel self conscious about your equipment, unless it's faulty?" Dr Reid sauntered over and stood beside Leonards' desk smile still present from Spocks remark.

"Hey I may be older than you, but I'm not  _that_  old. Everything works just fine." he rolled his eyes before giving the woman in front of him a quick once over then a rare cheeky smile.  _She really is quite something._  "cmon then I'll show you around and all that boring shit."

Now the next few hours passed by smoothly on all accounts. They were finally in space again by the end of the day and Leonard had learned a few things today about his new doctor.

1\. The fact what she was wearing trousers didn't make things easier it made things  _worse, so so much worse._

2\. She was actually really nice and pretty darn witty.

3\. She was actively (stupidly) trying not to swear for the majority of the day but could in fact swear like a sailor.

 _4\. Possibly_  had a dirtier mind than himself.

* * *

As Alex entered her quarters she kicked off her boots and immediately told the computer to start playing through the huge amount of songs she'd recently downloaded on her data padd on low volume as she got ready for bed, she stripped off to her underwear and smiled to herself.

_I don't think today could have went better if it tried, I honestly don't understand why people say Commander Spock is cold and un feeling he seemed quite nice today, I mean yea of course he's half vulcan but he seems like a very understanding person and has a little sense of humour of his own underneath that hard shell of an expression he wears constantly. And obviously the captain is as charming as everyone says he is, but I have a feeling he's alot more than just a pretty face, he's been through alot, maybe even more than his what he's been through with his crew. But then again they probably all have their stories. As for Leonard..._

She smiled to herself thinking about this morning and how she'd stunned him into silence with her witty response, she wasn't quite sure how she felt about being called sweetheart but if it was in his thick southern accent she might be able to get used to the idea. Maybe. She could analyse him like she'd done with most of the crew, (she hadn't analysed the rest of them very deeply though she wanted to get to know them properly rather than use her physcology expertise to figure out who they were) she wanted to experience the doctor first hand without knowing how he'd react to certain things. Though yes this morning she'd sped up the process of hopefully making them more comfortable around one another there was no guarantee that it would work in the long run. Though so far her chances looked good.

He was also very attractive, she wasn't sure what she was going to do or wanted to do with that information but damn.. _. I think clean shaven looks great on him but I bet he looks even better when he's let his facial hair grow just a tad, I think if he grew a beard he'd be the type to keep it short and well kept but... holy hell that'd look hot... Is it weird that I don't mind that he frowns alot? I mean he does have alot of tedious shit to deal with and it kinda just makes him who he is, besides he seemed to be pretty easy going today, and cracked quite a few smiles- for God sake what am I thinking I can't think like this..._

_A sudden buzzing of her com pulled her out of her thoughts._

**_#########_ **

**_If you need anything or have any questions don't hesitate to ask._ **

**_-LHM_ **

**_#########_ **

**_Offering the help of your legendary hands and checking if i need anything all in one day doctor, and I heard your bedside manner was none existent, I feel spoiled. But thanks, I think I have everything I need right now. x_ **

**_-ADR_ **

_WHY HAVE I JUST SENT A KISS THAT IS SO UN PROFESSIONAL. And why did I think it was appropriate to talk like that he doesn't even know me, nice one Alex, accidentally flirt with your superior on the first day you're a fucking idiot. If you quickly type out a reply saying the 'x' at the end was a mistake it might be salvageable make up an excuse-_

_**#########** _

**_Well you get the pleasure of my bedside manner until you do something to piss me off, that's the entire reason Jim has never experienced it, the kid is a constant pain in my ass. And call me Leonard, we aren't on duty right now._ **

**_-LHM_ **

**_#########_ **

_**Well since we aren't on duty you can call me Alex, I do have one question that you might be able to answer for me though. What does the H stand for in your initials?** _

_**-ADR** _

_**#########** _

_**You've just lost all bedside manner privileges, get some sleep you nosey woman.** _

_**-LHM** _

_**#########** _

_**Woops, someone is moody, I bet your middle name isn't even that bad, goodnight Leonard.** _

_**#########** _

**_Night Alex x_ **

**_-LHM_ **

she smirked at the last message, the bastard had noticed she'd put a kiss. Ah well atleast it was an indication that he wasn't really pissed off at her, just maybe a little bit grumpy. She could live with that, but now she definitely had a new mission to find out what Leonards middle name was. This should keep her entertained for a while. Turning the music off and taking off her bra she finally got into bed. The room was big enough, and she was thankful that she had a double bed. But some time during this week she was gunna have to make it feel like home, she hadn't had time to fully un pack today, but there was plenty of time for that during the week. She looked over at the two long black bags leaning against the wall and smiled. She'd start by finding them a place on the wall. Brushing her mane to the side she got comfy and turned off the lights.

_Everything is gunna go just great here. I wish you could have seen all this, Amelia._


	3. Meditation is required

Just going with the flow here so I'm hoping this is all making sense, no I don't own star trek eek forgot to mention that until now.

Enjoy!

* * *

It was only the sixth day back in space and they were currently 36.4 hours away from their destination in which they had been given orders from starfleet to observe and obtain data from a nebula, though Spock suspected there was information they could still learn from these beautiful star-forming regions in space he believed that most information was already known. The only thing that still hadn't been witnessed first hand in regards to a nebula is the moment a nebula changes its status to that of a star. He halted his contemplation when he heard a knock at his door. He placed his padd on his desk hoping that he would still have time to check is messages and go to the mess Hall after this interruption.

"You may enter." his voice betrayed nothing of the apprehension he felt, he knew exactly who it was behind the door as he heard it swish open and close again he stood and turned on his heels, hands behind his back he offered the woman infront of him a curt nod. "lieutenant, I was not expecting visitors at this time, may I assist you with something?"

"No Spock, I actually just came here because I need to clarify something so I just need you to stand and listen okay?"

Spock raised a brow but did not answer, Uhura was standing straighter than usual, confident and professional as always but her tone suggested apprehension.

"Okay good. I just wanted to clarify that despite your decision to stay on the enterprise, i think it would be best if we just stayed friends, I know we originally broke up because you were going to leave for new vulcan and help in the efforts to re populate but I've been thinking… there's more to it than that."

"Please clarify Nyota, are you suggesting that I lied, vulcans do not lie-"

"I'm not saying you lied Spock, I'm saying that there is more to it than I think you realise. and i'm not implying that because you stayed on the enterprise either of us expected to resume a romantic relationship with the other. i think we both know that it's over permanently no matter the decision you made."

"May I inquire as too the other reasons for our break up that you have discovered, if I have hurt you emotionally in any way Nyota I apologise, it is never my intention-"

"Don't apologise for something you haven't even realised yet Spock, it's been years and I've only just realised myself." she laughed but it was humourless. Her face took on a more sombre expression as she looked down at the floor as if it held all the answers to the questions she had. "All I know is i saw you fall apart, that one disaster of a day, our hardest mission, I saw you fall apart Spock. I watched as you cried and I knew right then you'd never cry for me, now I've been selfish to keep you to myself for this long. We both know the reason that you stayed Spock, and it wasn't for me, because I'm not the one that can make you feel that strongly, even if I was the one behind that glass door. You stayed for Jim, Spock."

Spock was stunned into silence, he had no idea what Nyota was suggesting and was struggling to make sense of it all. All he could see was Jim in front of him.

_Bruised and discoloured skin damp with sweat, not how he should be. The warm colour of his skin turned to a grey and green ash, no roseiness to his cheeks just bloodshot eyes with purple bags under them. His irises no longer vibrant blue, they seemed to be turning to grey with every second that passed as the life faded from him and that caused something inside Spock to snap._

" _I'm scared Spock...Help me not be...How do you choose not to feel."_

" _I do not know… Right now I am failing."_

Spock visibly winced at the memory and looked down to meet Nyota gaze who was looking at him knowingly.

"You'll figure it out Spock, don't worry this doesn't change our working relationship or our friendship. I'm here for you if you ever need to talk." she gave him a gentle if not sad smile and left, leaving the vulcan confused at being forced to remember such a painful memory. He decided to store the conversation that had just transpired for later to assess it's meaning during meditation and head to the mess Hall.

* * *

When Spock arrived at the mess Hall he replicated one of the few vulcan meals programmed into the machine and scanned the room for his captain. He found the blonde man almost immediately, sitting across from his cmo and new medical officer, with Mr Scott leaning in towards the table making exaggerated gestures with his hands, the man's facial expression changing 8 times within 20 seconds. Spock concluded the engineer must be telling an over exaggerated story. As he approached the conversation had died down as everyone was slowly eating there food, Jim gave him a wide grin when he sat down next to him, well… the widest grin anyone could give with a mouthful of beef burger. There was a groan from across the table as Dr Ried checked her padd.

"why won't they leave me alone." she muttered under her breath frowning at the device in her hands.

"What are you complaining about now woman." Bones raised a brow as he took a sip from his glass.

"Men." she sighed looking deflated as she set her padd on the table.

Scotty snorted from across the table "I hate to break it to ya lassy, but your sat with a bunch of us." Jim and Bones both sniggered.

"Well yea, but none of you have sent me messages asking me if I want to have coffee some time after only being here a week."

"I definitely had the same problem when I was first made captain." Kirk smirked at her laughing when she smiled and sarcastically rolled her eyes.  _This one has a hell of a personality and isn't shy either, she seems so comfortable with us all already. She's gunna fit in just fine. I wonder if she's met Uhura yet…_

"The hell you did Jimbo, like you'd bother asking anyone out for coffee." Bones chastised him as he feigned being deeply hurt.

"Not meaning to sound too forward lass but you're very bonny, and you're a new face to most of the lads on this ship, I'm not surprised you've got a few of them asking after ya already." the Scottsman leaned back in his chair poking at the rest of his food with his fork.

"I have to agree with Mr Scott doctor, by terran standards you are visually very aesthetically pleasing, as physical attraction is a key factor for most humans in forming an intimate relationship it is hardly surprising you have officers 'pinning after you' as Dr McCoy would say." Spock raised a brow as the woman seemed to nearly choke on her drink. He briefly noticed the strangely defensive look on doctor McCoys face and the shock on his captains.

"And for the record Spock I'm gonna tell you what I told Jim, you better not start pinning after my new medical officer." McCoy frowned slightly until he noticed Dr Reid laughing from the small fit of coughs she had been having due to inhaling her drink at Spocks comment.

"God this is the second time in my life a vulcan has called me hot and I don't think I'm ever going to get used to it." she laughed.

"Spock I've never heard you say anything like that to anyone before are you feeling okay?" Kirk questioned looking at his cmo with humour and something else in his eyes.  _Spock can find people attractive? Why do I care..._

"I am adequate captain, and to clarify I was not attempting to flirt, I was merely stating a popular opinion, and was more intrigued at how Dr Reid seemed annoyed at the fact officers were propositioning her."

" I'm annoyed because of how many there are, and because I've hardly had time to settle in properly, it'd be dandy if I could focus on just doing my job for the first week or so, plus I have no idea who any of them are, the only person I know on this list is lieutenant chekov and he's inviting me to come sit with him and Mr Sulu if I'm ever by myself for lunch which is nice to be honest, but the rest of them." Dr Reid pulled a strained face instead of finishing her sentence making Bones chuckle into his drink.

"There can't be that many of them surely." Kirk raised a brow in the red heads direction.

"27 in the space of 6 days, Captain."

"Well shit-"

"Hold up a second lass, did you say that was the second time a vulcan has called you 'aesthetically pleasing' in your life? I kinda wanny know what happened the first time." Scotty made air quotes with his hands which made the woman laugh openly.

"Same here, the hobgoblins aren't known for throwing out compliments just like that. What did he say?"

Alex looked around the table to see all four men staring at her with curiosity, the gentle buzz in the room continued as people ate there food and chatted with one another around them. But she found herself readily wanting to indulge them with the tale, like she wasn't sat in front of mostly her higher ranking officers but rather that of friends. She gave them all a joking suspicious glare before leaning into the table.

"Alright I'll tell you the story, but you can't know his name, patient confidentiality." she whispered seeing how all of them had subconsciously leaned further into the table. "in his defence he was drunk, and no no your correct in thinking vulcans don't get drunk off alcohol, he was in a nearby cafe that stays open pretty late, and the heaters had recently malfunctioned in the area so my surgery, the entire row of buildings in that section were cold, especially at night. So it's 10 o'clock at night and I'm already in bed because obviously I'm a party animal, and I hear this knocking from my surgery front door, so I throw on my robe and head out into the surgery barefoot because this knocking is just getting louder and louder and I open the door and a 6ft 4 vulcan stumbles through my door with the barista from the cafe trying to hold him up and she's tiny, she's like 5ft 4" at the most, so I'm confused as hell, groggy, and kinda amused. Then she starts to tell me she has no idea what's wrong with him, he came in fine but was obviously freezing so she'd made him a hot chocolate to warm him up. He didn't even ask what it was he apparently just seemed thankful for the hospitality, his card was stolen by some kid earlier in the night but he didn't want to hurt the kid so didn't get it back, in essence he had no money on him to even pay for a cup of tea."

She looked around to make sure everyone was still listening and was surprised to find chekov and Sulu had also sat themselves around the table and we're listening intently to her story, Leonard looked confused, obviously wanting to know how the he the vulcan was inebriated and Scotty was chuckling to himself, probably at the thought of the small woman trying to prop up a tall and disorderly vulcan.

"Anyway I knew straight away what had happened so I told her to go back to the café and warned her about serving vulcans anything containing chocolate, yea he was inebriated because she gave him a hot chocolate, vulcans react to it like we do to alcohol, apart from it doesn't take much to start affecting them. And he'd drank the entire mug, probably infused with another flavour as well like vanilla so he didn't realise till it was too late."

"Well I'll be damned, Spock you should have told me this so I could put it on the list of things you're allergic too."

"I had not thought it relevant information doctor as I actively avoid chocolate."

"accidents can happen you smart ass hobgoblin, it's always better to be safe than sorry." Bones grumbled returning his attention to un amused face of his medical officer next to him. "Sorry, go-ahead." he ground out frowning at being silently scolded. Spock was observing their interactions quietly from across the table.

"Anyway yea he was in a state so I sat him on a bio bed, turned the lights on low so it didn't disorientate him any more than he already was and you know asked him if he was experiencing any nausea or dizziness all that crap. He said no, so I asked if I could take a blood sample-"

"To try and analyse what was causing the reaction." Bones breathed out in contemplation.

"Exactly. Anyway when I was preparing the needles and such I hear him talking to himself, I'm not exactly that far away maybe a couple of feet away so I thought at first he was talking to me. So obviously I'm listening in and then I here this sentence come out of his mouth. '  _I find myself wanting to know if the rest of her body is a pleasing to the eye as her face, illogical. When have you entertained such inappropriate thoughts.'_ "

"Jesus Christ, he must have been absolutely hammered." Scotty looked like he was in shock. Jim and Sulu seemed to be giggling

"He was, he also didn't realise he'd said it outloud until he noticed me gawking at him. And I swear I saw the colour drain out of his face. Then he was all like 'My apologies it seems that I currently lack the control to stop myself from voicing my thoughts, that was most inappropriate of me.' What's worse is while I'm taking the blood samples he starts growling."

"What the hell." Bones's southern drawl filled the tense air as everyone was waiting to hear what happened next.

"Spock can vulcans even do that?" Kirk questioned, turning to his first officer noticing how he had went rigid in his seat. The man didn't move a muscle as he replied.

"It is an involuntary reaction for a number of vulcan males, but it is not without cause. Dr Reid must have provoked him somehow."

"Ahh Spock I can stop talking if this is gunna make you feel un comfortable, I realise I'm about to reveal some things that most vulcans don't like talking about with each other let alone having other races know about it." her voice was soft and slightly concerned.

Spock looked around the table, noting the officers and how he considered them all quite close friends and respected them. He also trusted them but he wasn't sure he trusted the other officers in the room to not gossip if they overheard what he thought Dr Reid was about to talk about. He could feel the worry and apprehension mixed in with confusion emanating from his captain. "May I suggest we continue your story when we all have free time available and there is no risk of anyone overhearing certain details?" Spocks voice was calm and flat but Dr Reid smiled at him with appreciation he immediately felt Jim relax beside him, only just noticing that beneath the table there legs had been touching for quite some time. He felt a certain warmth rush through him knowing that Jim had been worried about his well being.

"That's fine by me Commander." she looked down at her plate and the chips that remained on it. "Boys I'm afraid i've made a grave mistake."

"Huh?" Bones grunted looking mildly concerned as of she was about to have an allergic reaction to something.

"I've forgot to replicate some tomato sauce for my chips."

"Jesus woman I thought it was something serious, you're so over dramatic, here." Leonard grumbled turning his plate so that the sauce on the side of his plate faced her. "And for the record it's called ketchup."

"I speak English, not American."

"Even chekov calls it ketchup and he's Russian, and watch it, I can take that  _ketchup_  away just as easily as I gave you it." he emphasised the word just to annoy her, it seemed to be becoming a regular thing making small digs at eachother.

"You traitor." Dr Reid stared at chekov from across the table with a pout, chekov just laughed and started talking about how ketchup was originally made in good old mother russia. "And yea but you won't take it off me." she turned to Leonard who raised a sarcastic brow at her.

"and why the hell wouldn't I?"

She leaned in with a smirk till she was right next to Leonard's ear and whispered something that made the man turn tomato red. Bones felt a warm hand resting on his thigh as she spoke,  _if the hobgoblin hears this I'm screwed._  But the way Spock was looking at him he already knew it was too late.

Kirk was watching them aswell with a knowing look on his face as Dr Reid got up to leave after saying thanks to Leonard for the ketchup and saying goodbye to them all and headed back to sick bay. He wiggled his eyebrows at bones suggestively which just made the man glare and frown.

"So Bones what was that about, telling me not to go pinning after your medical staff and it seems like I never had a chance in the first place anyway." Jim leaned foward bkue eues borring into Bones as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"From Dr Reids observations, you appear to be attracted to her, in more ways than one it seems." Spock raised a brow.

"Zip it hobgoblin." Bones pointed accusingly.

"Well to be quite honest you canny blame the man for being attracted to her, Commander. You did say that you thought she was a looker earlier as well. I for one have to admit it took me a while to be able to look her in the eye and talk to her, to have emerald green eyes in a rarity in itself but combined with red hair and ivory skin, it kinda turns you into a blubbering idiot until you get used to it."

"Well thank God I was already a blubbering idiot." Bones grumbled knowing exactly what Scotty meant about her eyes, as much as she was attractive in every other aspect. Her eyes were mesmerising and the hair just went with her feisty personality.

"So what was it that she shut you up with Bones, don't think I've forgotten."

"She appeared to have noticed Dr McCoy staring during the week." Spock did his non smirk as he watched Leonards eyebrow twitch in frustration.

"staring at what?" Kirk looked confused.

"I believe the term Dr Reid used was 'her ass'." Spock was suprised at how the usually easy to rile up doctor wasn't affected. He seemed to just be grumbling with a deep set frown about vulcans and their 'freakish hearing'.

"appreciate from afar, I can get behind that…" Sulu spoke slowly clicking on to what his words sounded like as everyone turned to look at him, including a rather agitated McCoy with crossed arms and a raised brow. "Well not literally of course. I'm just say there's nothing wrong with looking, especially if it's worth being caught over."

"I agree with Hikaru, however I vould not try and pursue Dr Reid, I fear she could break me, ya?" and with that everyone except Spock was laughing.

"What makes you think that kid?" Bones chuckled, thank God he wasn't the focus of the conversation anymore. Just like Sulu said, there was no harm in looking.

"Vell, she has a lot of confidence for one, and being completely honest she is very much stronger than I am. A woman with confidence is A. Very sexy or B. Very very dangerous."

"That sounds suspiciously like wisdom from previous experience, I didn't believe her when she said you weren't all that innocent kid. But apparently she's read you like a book."

"Now I don't see what's wrong with a mixture of A and B, spice things up you know, it's great when they know what they want." Jim added folding his arms defensively. Not noticing the eyebrow raise directed towards him by a certain first officer.

"the danger lies with disappointing a woman who has the strength to crush yur skull between her thighs like it's a melon." Scotty joked, smile dropping when he realised he was probably exactly right, especially with who they were talking about. Leonard choked on his drink.

"Jesus what the hell kinda women have you been seeing, you know what don't answer that. I don't want to know." Bones covered his face with his hands and sighed "How the hell did we get onto this topic?"

"When Spock told us what Dr Reid said to you. Does she flirt alot?" Sulu piped up.

"I have no idea man, why?"

"Because by the looks of it Bones, she's pinning after you." Jim smirked at his cmo seeing him frown at him as if he was stupid.

"Yea sure she is Jimbo, she's pinning after me as much as she's pinning after you, as in not at all. Anyway gotta get back, see you boys later." as soon as Leonard was out of earshot Jim was turning towards Sulu with a devilish grin on his face.

"So we're starting a poll right now on when they'll shack up I'm betting 3 months from now, you can change bets up to one week prior to it finally happening, if you change your bet 6 days before they shack up it won't count for shit."

"On it captain." Sulu spoke seriously tapping away at his data padd. "How much are you betting captain?"

"50 credits."

"Yes sir!"

Spock was looking at him like he'd officially lost the plot and Jim just laughed. "It's only a bit of fun Spock trust me even if both of them find out they won't take offence, to be honest I don't think they'd tell each other about it. I bet Dr Reid would bet on it if she could."

"indeed. Are you free for a game of chess tonight captain? At approximately 19:00 hours."

"Sure thing Spock, remember just walk in don't bother knocking." He grinned at the vulcan slapping the man on the shoulder as they both got up to return to the bridge for the rest of their shift. He made a mental note to meditate before meeting with the captain for their chess match. There was much he needed to reflect on.


	4. Bubble baths and cider and black?

Ah yes finally managed to get this chapter sorted. Woop.

And to any people wondering where the Spock and kirk is don't you worry. Though this is predominantly meant to be a fic about Bones. The spirk will happen, I'm just not throwing them into it. They haven't started having there little moments yet.

But don't worry their time will come.

I still don't own star trek sigh

Enjoy.

* * *

It had been a mere month and though Leonard hated space with a passion... he was bored. Not that he wanted anyone injured or anything, and he sure was enjoying Dr Reid company but damn. They'd not been sent on an exploration mission to a new world in a whole month. The entire crew felt tense and there was a constant buzz in the air that just made him uncomfortable. The only respite he got was being in the gym, which yes he'd started going to more often, off his own motivation dammit! And actually being at work in the med bay with Dr Reid keeping him entertained, mostly with smart ass comments and digs which admittedly he returned. It was 'banter' as she called it, the British were so weird. The rest of the time they spent flirting… or atleast that's what he thought it was, not like he cared, it was technically coming out more like banter between them both and it kept him on his toes.  _Not that I need to be kept on my toes, I'm expecting Jim to be rushed through these doors any damn second of every day._

"Hey Leonard have you seen nurse chapel anywhere? I need her help with something." Dr Reid voice snapped him out of his thoughts, her usual confidence seemingly subdued, voice a little quieter than usual.

He raised an eyebrow at her suspiciously. "she's been confined to her quarters for atleast a week she's come down with the Levodian flu, couldn't risk her passing it on. Why?"

"Ughhhh." she plonked herself down at a chair near Leonards desk pulling an over dramatic face that he couldn't help but laugh at. "I need a second opinion, as in a medical second opinion."

"well the last time I checked I was a doctor myself."  _why would she ask for nurse chapel over him, it doesn't make any sense._  What did she have that he didn't?

She proceeded to look at him like he was stupid which just made him frown in annoyance. He was about to retort with a smart ass comment when she leaned in and whispered something that had him baffled. "I've found a lump." her voice smooth as always sounded unsure and nervous.

"what type of lump?" things would go a whole lot faster if she just came out with it rather than him having to ask twenty questions.

"I've ran my tricorder over it but the results keep coming back inconclusive. It doesn't feel like a cancerous lump but I need another medical opinion. Look will you help me out or not?" her voice came out harsh and impatient, she was obviously nervous that some of the other patients were listening in on their conversation. I tiny frown appeared on her face which Bones couldn't help but admit made her look more cute than angry, least threatening frown he'd seen in his life.

"Sure, I'll take a look at it now if you want where is it?" he began putting a clean pair of gloves on as he spoke motioning for her to present him with this lump.

"My god, your equipment isn't the only thing that's faulty apparently the gears aren't turning quickly today." she put her head in her hand sighing.

"look do you want my help or don't ya?" Leonard growled, his patience was wearing thin now.

"I can't just show you the lump."

"why the hell not."

"where do women find most possible cancerous lumps Leonard?" she gave him a second to click on and watched the cogs turning as he tried to decipher her meaning. "I can't just whack my boob out in the middle of sickbay you idiot." she hissed out quietly cheeks flushed in embarrassment at having to literally explain the situation to him.

"Oh. Well yea I wouldn't expect you to do that."  _or want you too_. He recovered from the initial surprise relatively quickly and couldn't blame her for getting annoyed at him he really had been slow to catch on. " look I have to ask, this is definitely medical related right?"

She looked personally offended with disbelief written across her features. "Are you shitting me Leonard? I can assure you if I wanted you grabbing em in any other way I'd have went about this a hell of a lot fucking differently. What the hell do you take me for?"

"Don't look at me like that I had to ask alright I've had some issues with female patients before with this kinda thing, they come in almost regularly claiming they've found a fucking lump and asking me to check, because apparently they don't trust nurse chapel enough to do it." he leaned forward so he was inches from her face a deep frown plastered on his face, his voice came out like gravel despite the quiet volume. Alexs features softened slightly regarding him obviously not wanting to believe what he was saying.

"Leonard you do realise that can be classed as sexual harassment, why the hell haven't you said anything before now?" she asked in all seriousness, but he just waved her away as he stood up, she grabbed his arm before he could walk away."I'm not trying to cop a feel, the med bay really doesn't do it for me if I'm completely honest" she said jokingly lightening the mood between them as he smirked and turned to go pull the curtains around a nearby biobed. She followed after him slowly watching him grab a tricorder and start to run it over her chest before stopping and asking which side. "right." she laughed shaking her head at him with a smile.

"it's picking something up but it doesn't seem to know what. I fucking hate these things, you'd think with all this new technology they could actually get them to work properly." he grumbled, stood behind her trying to decipher the readings he'd picked up. He turned to let her know that he'd have to check with his hands but abruptly turned back to face the wall as he was greeted with a blue uniform shirt being pulled up and a reveal of a black bra clasp. "Jesus woman give a guy a warning."  _he was aware he was blushing like a schoolgirl damn it! He was meant to be running this examination, he was surprised is all._

"I find that that never has the desired effect." she purred.

Her usual confidence had returned and he could tell she was wearing a flirtatious smirk without even looking at the woman.

He couldn't believe this woman's ability to flirt during what a lot of people would call awkward situations. "say anything like that while I'm examining and I'll report you for being a sexual predator." he grunted, he received a small laugh from it making him feel slightly more at ease. "alright, I'm turning round now your back better be to me still or so help me."

He sucked in a breath and turned around, he was nothing but professional with his patients and never let himself think anything of his patient's while they were in his care but he was both pleasantly surprised and confused by the sight infront of him. He never thought a woman's back could look aesthetically pleasing… and of course there was the tattoo. He let the breath out slowly allowing himself a second to admire the perfect splay of muscles across her back and shoulders, strong but delicate by no means bulky but far from weak.

"Hey Leonard, don't wear the gloves I absolutely hate the feel of latex, I know your hands are clean it's fine." Her voice was calm as she turned her head to look at what was taking him so long. To which he snapped out of it as a freckled face smiled at him revealing dimples. "You zoned out for a second there, you okay?" she asked turning her head back to look straight on, she could hear the shallow breathing behind her and the squeaky removal of gloves.

"I'm fine, you're gonna have to guide me to where this bastard is." he whispered, moving in close behind her and resting his left hand on her shoulder. This isn't how breast examination normally happened, normally it was from the front for obvious reasons but he thought doing it this way would make things alot easier and less awkward for them both. They were working together after all, and he didn't want her feeling uncomfortable. Somehow despite his approach this felt alot more intimate than it should have. Her skin was cold under his hand as he subconsciously rubbed small circles into her shoulder with his thumb. He presented her with his right hand,  _why the hell did I agree to this._

He felt her palm on the back of his hand and swallowed hard. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife and the silence wasn't helping him at all. "You did say to let you know if your 'legendary' hands could help me with anything." she joked as if on que. And just like that the tension eased and he chuckled as his hand finally met soft skin and he began pressing his palm into the plump tissue to try and find the problem.

"I did, but when you're offering a helping hand to a beautiful woman there's normally no lump involved." he raised his brows as he found the source of the problem. "found it, atleast I think that's it." he grumbled.  _You fucking idiot keep your mouth shut, stop letting your mouth run wild this isn't the right time for it._ He scowled at himself "and damn it woman, shut your mouth."

"why." she said laughing slightly.

"So I can shut mine." he grunted, admitting defeat. "I know what this is, well thats if it feels a little-" he squeezed slightly with two fingers on the problem area feeling the rounded lump more pronounced, a hand flew back and nails dug into his thigh through his trousers as there was a loud hiss. "Tender or sometimes painful…" he finished not expecting the reaction it caused. "Sorry… Alex you can let go now."  _please let go, please please._

The sudden attack on his thigh had made him jump and twitch forward to the point he was practically breathing down her neck. He was breathing pretty heavily from the shock and her perfume was filling his senses, he stared straight ahead, forcing himself to look anywhere but down. "Please," he breathed, when a couple of seconds had passed. The grip on his thigh left and he sighed dropping his own hand.  _Well atleast she didn't grab my fucking hair_. He didn't fancy having a bald spot, or being put in such a suggestive position during a breast examination. Who was he kidding that entire thing went terribly. He turned around preparing the necessary medication that would get rid of the bastard lump and he heard shuffling behind him, obviously she was getting dressed…  _well she better be. And what a bastard that lump was to be attempting to ruin such a nice b- pull yourself together damn it man!_

The thought of her trying anything else in the med bay, especially as full as it was now made him shiver, and not in a nice way. Why the hell was he thinking about that in the first place? Nothing was going to happen between them. Ever. They were Co workers. It didn't matter that he found her attractive or that they got along. It had only been a month they barely knew eachother.  _And she sure as hell wouldn't be interested in you anyway you old fool, you're hardly the best looking guy on the ship, hell she could take her pick of men if she really wanted and you still wouldn't be on that list. She's 28 damn it and you're 36. Just give her the damn pills already._ Scowling at himself for going off topic in his own head yet again he turned around to hand her the pills and explained what they both knew it was, but was distracted by the smug look on her face the entire time he was speaking.

"what the hell you looking so smug about." he was already so done with today, he was glad he only had another scheduled half hour before heading to bed. His voice sounded tired and grumpy.

"Oh nothing." she smiled feigning innocence. Now fully clothed and looking like nothing had just happened.

"Whatever." Bones grumbled waving a hand in dismissal before turning around and opening the curtains back up and heading to his desk. He sat down and sighed. He didn't know why he'd just been so rude all he knew was that he needed some time to think, somewhere quiet, he also could do with a drink. It wasn't her fault he was stressed not really, he was honestly just dreading their first dangerous mission and how he knew Jim was going to end up in a biobed yet again. He knew when the time came he'd deal with it but it didn't mean he didn't dread the thought of it. He pulled out the not so secret bottle of whiskey from his desk and placed it on his desk pouring himself a glass. There weren't many patients in and all of them were asleep anyway.

Sighing to himself he took a sip of the amber liquid, relishing the warm burn as it made its way down his throat. He looked around the med bay lazily, everything was still, apart from the gentle movements of Dr Reid cleaning up the small area they had just used and pulling the curtains back to their original open setting. He should probably apologise for being a bit of a jerk earlier. But he couldn't bring himself to move from his seat. He leaned forward resting his head in his folded arms, he really should go to bed. He vaguely heard footsteps coming towards him but at this point couldn't care less who it was. He shouldn't feel this tired he'd barely had anything to do all day, it didn't make sense.

Suddenly he felt a hand in his hair, the fingertips massaging his scalp gently, occasionally playing with separate strands of hair. He'd say he felt ashamed having his hair stroked like a dog but in all honesty it was weirdly comforting.

"Don't worry I'm not gunna ask you what's wrong, you barely know me, it just looked like you needed a friend…" Alexs voice was soft as she trailed off, receiving a small humm in response. They stayed like this for a couple of minutes before she stopped, earning her a disapproving grunt muffled by a blue shirt "Leonard you've almost fell asleep twice" she giggled standing up "Don't make me walk you back to your quarters, cuz then I'll know exactly where I need to go when I need to come kick your ass for some reason or another." this earned her another muffled grumble. "alright fine but if I find out you slept on your desk tomorrow I will be telling the captain and I'll make it seem like something serious is wrong so he puts you on sick leave for a week." she deadpanned.

Bones looked up at this threat scowling. "You wouldn't. Besides it's your word over mine."

"I could tell him instead about my breast examination and watch as he makes jokes at your expense for weeks… that sounds like a better idea." she turned to walk away heading towards the med bay doors with a grin plastered on her face. She heard the huge sigh and the little jog that Bones did to catch up.

He put his hands up as he caught up with her walking along side her in the winding corridors of the enterprise. "I'm going I'm going, don't tell him my god you have no idea what that would be like."

"I think it'd be funny, I'd quite like to watch you try and answers all the awkward questions he'd ask." she chided sticking her tongue out at him.

"Oh would you now, shame he wouldn't just be asking me the questions." Leonards eyebrows were raised in a mocking way as he laughed at the change in facial expression on his Co workers face.

"what. He wouldn't he-"

"oh he would. I can think of plenty of examples of questions if you like."

"Nooooo, shut up, fine, I won't say anything. But now you have to make sure he doesn't find out." she poked him in the chest as they continued to walk.

"You scared doc." they came to a stop outside of Leonards door.

She smirked and leaned in to whisper near his ear "not at all, I just don't think it'd be appropriate to tell my captain that I wouldn't mind listening to his cmo whispering 'please' into my ear again and breathing down my neck."

Bones felt heat go straight to his cheeks and he knew the tips of his ears were burning aswell. "I hate you, you posh witch." he ground out frowning hard at all the images that his overactive imagination put into his head.

"No you don't, goodnight sweetheart, I'll see you tomorrow." she giggled giving him the cheekiest smile before turning around and heading down the corridor to her own room, hips swaying side to side as she walked. A rush of blood headed south as he watched her leave, forcing himself to rush into his quarters and lock the door at ridiculous speed _. I'm too old for this shit._

He had to keep himself distracted. He sat down at his desk leaning back in the swivel chair and got to work on some reports that needed completing on the current patients in the med bay. Honestly they weren't serious cases or anything which is why he had no problems coming back to his own room to sleep, there was other medical staff on different shifts to him anyway that were in there of course. Just none that he knew very well, besides, he needed staff that were more capable with the emergency situations which is why he had nurse chapel and now, Dr Reid. He had yet to see her in an emergency situation, which he was both thankful for yet at the same time apprehensive. Could she handle the pressure?

Speaking of pressure, the tent in his trousers was still pitched… cold shower it was. His com buzzed in his pocket as he walked to the bathroom flipping it open as he pulled off his shirt he saw that it was a message from the witch, he contemplated ignoring her for a while before replying just to annoy her. Setting the thing down on the side of the sink he took the rest of his clothes off, the chill in the air making him re think getting a cold shower. Every hair on his body was raised with and he was covered in goosebumps when his com buzzed again. He frowned at it, two messages in the space of a few seconds? Something could be wrong. What Leonard expected was either her making a dig at him or something serious to be wrong. He got neither. Instead on the screen was a selfie of his Co worker surrounded by bubbles sat up right in the bath, taking a photo from a mirror that was aparently directly behind the taps of said bath, she had her tongue stuck out the tips of her hair visibly wet with bubbles strategically high enough to cover her breasts whilst leaving her shoulders bare. Why she'd took her com into the bath with her he had no idea but he couldn't care less. He read the message underneath and smirked.

**Jealous?**

**-ADR**

**##########**

He was admittedly a little rusty, but this was definitely flirting in his books. The woman was sending him a photo of herself in the bath for crying out loud. This wasn't work related at all, and hold up yes he was jealous why the hell did she have a bath!

**Very. Why the hell do you get a bath and I'm stuck with a shower?**

**-LHM**

**########**

**Maybe you should have dibbsed this room first then before requesting additional medical staff. Can't imagine you having a Bubble bath though.**

**-ADR**

**########**

**Well you'd be right about that, but I've been known to put up with them on occasion. And i'm definitely putting in a request to have our quarters swapped.**

**-LHM**

**#########**

**'Put up with' you make it sound like sharing a bath is a horrific experience! Surely you'd be happy about the naked woman sat across from you?**

**-ADR**

**#########**

**I thought that was a given? Sharing a bath is fine but I'd rather share an ordinary bath than a bubble bath.**

**-LHM**

**#########**

**The bubbles are meant to block the view you perv :') keeps things mysterious and you know, kinda innocent until you get out.**

**-ADR**

**########**

**If I'm sharing a bath with them I've probably already seen them naked so there's no point. And to be honest if I'm getting a bath with them I ain't getting all sweaty straight afterwards, fuck that. I wanna get clean and relax.**

**-LHM**

**Also what is ' :') ' are you mocking me witch? And can I get in my shower yet?**

**-LHM**

**########**

**Ohh okay. Being that comfortable with someone sounds nice. And hey I wasn't implying that sex has to happen after sharing a bath! That's what showers are for. And oh it's an emoji basically turn the screen to the**  side. **It's meant to be a crying smiling face. I normally use it when I find something funny.**

**-ADR**

**wait you've been waiting to get a shower this whole time?**

**-ADR**

**########**

Leonard decided it was his turn to send a photo, he just opted for a quick snap of himself frowning into the mirror with an Un amused look on his face. He clicked send before realising the angle he'd taken the photo at had got a little bit more than his head and shoulders in. _Well it's too fucking late now._

**Yup. :')**

**-LHM**

**#########**

_I've probably used that wrong. And hold up, she's never been in a relationship where she could be that comfortable around someone? That's actually pretty sad._  Leonard wouldn't admit to anyone but being comfortable enough with someone to be able to relax in your most vulnerable state was probably one of the best feelings. It reminded him of his wife before their marriage went to shit and she turned into a bitch. Well now ex wife.

**Hmmm I kinda wanna torment you a bit more though. Permission to shower denied. X**

**-ADR**

**##########**

_This cheeky witch._

**I wasn't asking for your permission woman.**

**-LHM**

**#########**

**Yea you did, literally a couple of messages ago. You didn't need to prove you were waiting to shower by getting naked you know. Although I definitely appreciate the photo.**

**-ADR**

**##########**

**What makes you think I'd put so much effort in for a photo, I was already in my birthday suit. And who's the pervert now?**

**-LHM**

**##########**

**You can't blame me if you send a photo like that! And stop frowning, for some reason it looks good on you, but I'm pretty sure you don't frown whilst you shower.**

**-ADR**

**#########**

_Okay… she really liked the photo? I mean I'm not in bad shape but I wasn't expecting this reaction. Have I even been flirting properly? Fuck it._

Leonard turned on the shower and let the water heat up as he switched to the front camera on his com. He stepped under the stream of water and ran his fingers through his hair raising one brow he snapped another photo. Actually checking it before sending this time he concluded that he looked relatively attractive. He hadn't meant to take the photo whilst his hand was still in his hair but ah well. Did he smirk slightly while taking the photo or did the eyebrow raise just make the entire picture look more suggestive than he'd meant?

He pressed send anyway, they may not know each other the best but they knew each other well enough that they were comfortable around one another. Besides they were both adults, this could probably be considered flirtatious banter to Alex anyway.

**I guess you're right, I don't shower with a frown.**

**-LHM**

**#########**

Leonard was sure he heard the sound of something soft crashing into something metal somewhere further down the corridor.

**If you could give me some warning before sending something so NSFW that'd be great, I just fucking walked into my bathroom door.**

**-ADR**

**##########**

**It's a SFW photo you clumsy witch.**

**-LHM**

**##########**

**If you send that to any other woman on this ship they'd be outside your door in 5 seconds flat. I didn't use a smolder in any of my photos!**

**Ps. I see that stubble coming through.**

**-ADR**

**##########**

**I didn't think it was a smolder I took it in one shot? I didn't think woman could do a 'smolder' nd yea I know I need to shave.**

**-LHM**

**#########**

**Here's an example of the women's smoulder, we tend to call it 'sex eye's' or 'fuck me eye's'. We use it as a weapon against unsuspecting males and to try find a mate.**

**-ADR**

**#########**

_Jesus Christ_

_She's gorgeous_

The photo itself wasn't inappropriate in any way, just a photo of her face rather than the half body mirror selfie she'd sent first. But she was looking up at him through the picture between thick lashes, biting one side of her lip gently. But her eyes, he couldn't look away from the deep and rich greens that seemed to instill a deep set calm in him whilst also starting a spark that lit him up in more ways than he could describe. All he knew was that he was blushing like a girl who'd just been asked to go to prom for the third time that day. He had a feeling that if he wasn't fully in control of himself right now blood would be rushing elsewhere. But that's not happening, it'd be a stupid response to an innocent photo damn it! I feel like a bastard teenager again.

**I can see how it could catch someone off guard.**

**-LHM**

**#########**

**Sorry I started talking like I was doing a documentary on women their for a second, and don't shave.**

**-ADR**

**Well I can't tell you what to do I'm just saying it wouldn't look bad if you let it grow. And yea it's really good for getting what you want. :')**

**-ADR**

**########**

There was a knock on Leonards bathroom door luckily for them he'd just finished this quick shower and turned the water off and flung a towel around his waist, grabbing a smaller hand towel to dry his hair. The door swished open to reveal who he knew it would be, Jim stood in his bathroom doorway with his usual grin plastered on his face, dressed in uniform but looking fresh faced.

"what do you want kid?"

"can I not just want to stop by to chat with my best friend? Kirk whined following his friend out of the bathroom and into his quarters like a lost puppy.

"yea but I know that face Jimbo, you want something. And i'm in a good mood for once so what is it?"

"Well now that you mention it Bones there is something going on in rec room 4 tonight and I was wondering if you wanted to come." Jim tilted his head with a questioning face, noting that his friend hadn't made any move to try and get dry or dressed. "cmon Bones what're you waiting for get dressed already." He wanted to drink with Bones and find out all the details about his friends back and forth flirting with the new doctor. And of course meet Spock upstairs and try and convince him to have a drink or maybe even eat some chocolate. What he'd give to see Spock drunk.

Bones grumbled something about just getting out of his uniform and decided to just throw on a starfleet regulation black under shirt and pin his medical badge onto it, he was sure not everyone would be wearing full uniform anyway.

Kirk hummed, that was alot quicker than he was expecting. He wondered if Spock would take him up on his invitation and attend, he did promise the man that ito be a great chance to further analyse human behaviour in a social setting. Mainly you know as a bribe, but it had worked, especially when he pulled his sad face and moped that he was really hoping Spock would keep him company.  _God am I good. I have him wrapped around my little finger._  Kirk opened the door to Leonards quarters heading down the corridor towards the turbo lift with Bones close on his heels, noticing chekov stood outside of Dr Reids quarters having some sort of light hearted conversation. The poor guy seemed to be blushing as they got closer, until kirk clicked on to what their conversation was about. Chekov was trying to invite her to rec room 4 for the little get together they were having, telling her there was alcohol and no need to be nervous and blabbering about how alot of people wanted to meet her and see her again. The kid had already clearly had a bit to drink. As Leonard and Jim got closer they both saw the young navigator start to wobble and knew enviably what was about to happen.

They both jumped forward to try and stop the man from falling on his face but they were just out of reach and watched in what felt like slow motion as he tumbled forward aggressively, not expecting a pale arm to wrap around the man's back and steddy him. She didn't seem to realise the two men were both practically stoof outside her door as she pulled out a tricorder from her pocket and scanned the luitenent she was currently supporting. She frowned at the device before stuffing it back in her pocket. Turning to see the two men staring at her.

"Leonard, hold him a second, he's not actually that drunk-" Leonard swooped in and put chekovs arm over his broad shoulders, doing as he was told as he watched the woman rifling through one of her draws before pulling out what appeared to be a jar. She returned smiling, tearing the wrapper off of a small orange lollipop and putting it in chekovs hand gently. "Eat this, I'll only come if you eat this and try drinking something that's not just vodka, you need cider something with sugar in, your sugar levels are far to low." her voice was soft but authoritive, chekov nodded shyly with a small smile and stuck the lollipop in his mouth. Jim couldn't help but chuckle at the poor kid, and the way his cmo looked mildly offended at being told what to do, the frown on his friends face was a confused one and it was hilarious.

"Well I'm just glad you managed to catch him before he fell on his face, we thought he was a gonner. Nicely handled." Jim laughed offering his arm to the redhead who just jokingly let out a smile and a small laugh before linking her arm with his. "Cmon Bones, to rec room 4, hey don't look at me like that I'm being polite, besides you get to enjoy her company every day." He gave Bones his trade mark grin as they all made there way back up to the lift.

"Doctor I have slight problem, i don't drink cider because I do not like the way it tastes, it is not bitter like beer ya? But I is finding it to be an acquired taste." chekov whined slightly his Russian accent thicker than usual as they got into the lift, kirk letting go of Alexs arm in the process.

"Replicate some Un diluted blackcurrant juice... Or cordial as Americans call it. Pour about three or four shot glasses of it into your pint, it'll taste much better." she frowned at the looks she was receiving from her captain and cmo, both looking at her in bewilderment. "What?"

"Why would you do that?" Bones questioned looking mildly concerned for her sanity.

"You've never had cider and black before? You're kidding." she looked between the two men with slight bewilderment.

"What kinda name is 'cider and black'" Jim chipped in still looking confused and oddly offended.

"Well to be honest I guess it is a British thing, but I was atleast expeting one of you to have tried it... It makes a plain cider a little bit sweeter to the taste, well depending on how much blackcurrant juice you put in. Just don't do it with already flavour ciders like strawberry and lime and such. And it's alot cheaper than most other drinks." she raised her brows at them all as they shook there heads to confirm none of them had ever tried it. "Jesus you're all trying it tonight, even if you don't like it." she shook her head at them like she was the only normal one in the elevator. "I bet Scotty would know what I was talking about." she huffed.

* * *

The rec room was crowded with most of the Alpha shift bridge crew bubbling around slowly getting more and more intoxicated as the nights activities continued. Dr Reid aka Alex, had immediately been swept away by the likes of Uhura and Scotty (who immediately confirmed knowing exactly what cider and black was) and Leonard had happily drank with Jim for the first half of the night before the hobgoblin had arrived. He knew if anything went down at this point he'd be dishing out hypos like there was no tomorrow so that the crew could get to their stations without injuring themselves or anyone else. Mind you this was nice compared to the tense atmosphere that had built up recently among most of the bridge crew, everyone wanted to be exploring a planet for signs of new life and they were still stuck (after a month) of observing and taking the equivalent of notes on a nebula. Starfleet orders though so they'd just have to sit pretty until new orders came in. Despite just being questioned by Nyota and Jim Leonard was having a pretty good, and thankfully Un eventful evening, drinking in good company. Wasn't it brilliant how women became so defensive and protective over one another when they were drinking? Nyota had only gone and seen a bruise that he'd aparently left earlier that day on Alexs right boob (don't ask him how she'd seen it he had no idea either, all he knew was that women went to the toilet in packs) and now that aparently his new member of staff bruised like a peach.  _How the hell was i supposed to know she bruised so easily?_ He hadn't squeezed that hard. Just a little pinch, and as soon as Nyota heard Alex muttering under her breath something like 'god damn it Leonard' she was straight out of the door and on him like a bee too honey. Just in a less sweet more terrifying sense.  _And of course Jim had to have been there._ so yea despite having to re tell the entire story of how it happened to them both while Jim made inappropriate jokes, he was having a great night.

"You didn't say I gave you bruises, I'm so so sorry." came a quiet voice from over his shoulder, he turned on his heels to be greeted by the redhead he was just talking about. Who looked pretty rosy in the cheeks and not at all cute.

"whoa what how did you-"

"I've got pretty good hearing. Don't worry I don't mind that you told them."

"Okay so just to clarify how much of that conversation did you hear?" Bones leaned in a bit closer looking around shiftily as a joke.

She laughed at him as he grabbed one of the bottles off the desk to refill her glass. "Not much just bits and pieces, mostly just heard the part about your thigh bruises and the captain immediately taking the situation as an innuendo." Her voice became quiet and Un easy. "Hey Leonard, I'm probably not gunna be able to say this when I'm sober so I gotta tell you now." she looked down at her feet her hands fidgeting around her glass awkwardly, he didn't even know what she was going to come out with but the whole sight of her looking nervous and adorable made him want to wrap her in a bear hug.

 _I hope that's the alcohol talking or I'm already in way too deep._ He gave her a re assuring look to let her know he was listening.

"ah God how can I say this, basically I'm not usually so confident and well... flirty and shit straight away with people. I guess, we just clicked and I got comfortable like ten times faster than I normally do but, I actually care quite a bit what people think of me and care about what you think aswell, but basically what I'm trying to say is I'm sorry if I've made you feel uncomfortable in any way, I'll tone it down and stop being so crude I don't know why i-"

"Whoa darlin slow down down there." Leonard cut her off putting a finger to her lips, chuckling at her confused face. "Stop apologising, you've got nothing to apologise for, it's hardly just you're fault when-

 _"I can't seem to keep my mouth shut when I'm around you."_ they both said at the same time looking at each other slightly taken aback. Leonards finger still pressed firmly against her lips. She looked down at said digit and a pink flush covered her cheeks. Pulling his hand slowly away from her face till he eventually took his hand back. They just regarded each other in a comfortable silence until the cheekiest smile appeared on Alexs face.

"You know, forming relationships with people is a lot like getting drunk. You drink too fast and you're more likely to end up black out drunk having the worst night of your life. But if you pace yourself a take it slow, you're more likely going to get to the perfect level of drunk and be able to enjoy every moment afterwards." Her voice was like honey as she spoke, so sweet and promising it had his mind momentarily wondering what a moan would sound like coming from those plump pink lips, what his name would sound like being chastised or even just called down for dinner, and he found himself staring at them lazily. But he understood perfectly what she meant. Metaphors were Leonards second language after all.

"I can drink to that." He purred finishing his glass and leaving it on the desk. It was an unspoken agreement between them both, not to rush things, to take things slow and get to know one another first. But there moment was interrupted by a very thick Scottish accent.

"Would either of you like to try this wee nifty drink I picked up back at York town, not entirely sure where it's from mind, think it roughly translates to 'dreamjuice' in English. I've had it before and I can tell you it tastes damn good." The chief engineer laughed as he caught the pairs attention with the small purple bottle. They both gave eachother a curious glance as the Scottsman explained how the drink worked.

Little did they know Spock and kirk had had a drink from the same bottle that night and they were being heavily observed from across the room. Spock was curious, for scientific reasons of course, if this alcohol the chief engineer had given them, was capable of entrapping four minds into a shared dream like state, or if it would work at all. After all he was vulcan. He'd never dreamt before. After all Mr Scott had made it quite clear that it's intended use was to indeed link people's minds in a dream, but he couldn't explain how the drink managed to do it. With two extra minds to account for this could become quite interesting indeed.


	5. Little talks

Hello again, trying to get more written in each chapter I hope you're all enjoying the story so far!

Special thanks to deathb4beauty for my very first review on this story ( over on fanfiction, she also suggested i post it on here) :') I know this seems to be moving kinda slowly but don't you worry, missions and adventure are coming very soon.

* * *

Leonard woke up with a jolt, the pitch blackness of his room engulfing him. He hadn't had a nightmare, not one that he could remember at least. And yet he could feel sweat on his brow and in parts if his hair as if he'd just slept through a night terror. He groaned, raising his forearm to wipe the damp off his head, squinting to try and get his eyes to adjust to the darkness. All he knew is he was up before his alarm and felt groggy as hell.

He dragged himself out of bed turning the lights on low at 10%, he didn't fancy blinding himself so early in the morning when there was probably hours left for him to go back to sleep. He felt goosebumps rise up on his bare skin as he tread to the bathroom in nothing but his boxers, the carpet brushing against the soles of his feet as he walked.

Yawning, he reached the bathroom and approached the sink, gripping both sides with clammy hands as he looked up into the mirror his reflection frowning back at him. Shoulders broad and tense, he regarded his appearance for a second making a mental note to up the intensity of his workouts when he got the chance to get himself to the gym. He wasn't shredded in any sense of the word, neither was most guys in this ship if he was honest. But he had a good amount of muscle in his arms and chest a relatively flat stomach, which in itself surprised him. He didn't really have the time to be doing endless amounts of sit ups and was surprised he wasn't rocking the dad body with a beer gut by now. The fact that he still had pecs puzzled him aswell, then again he was always dragging Jim out of bad situations, both metaphorically and literally, and he did do his best to work the different part of his body equally when he did go to the gym. He turned on the cold tap and splashed water onto his already damp face surprised that it didn't seem to get rid of the groggy feeling.

Trudging his way back over to his bed he reached for the clock on his bed side table, turning it to squint at it in the darkened room.

_Jesus man focus what the fuck is wrong with you._

He rubbed his eyes as he stared at the clock for the second time not being able to see the numbers, instead there was just a blur of red light emanating from the little black box that was supposed to tell him the time.

_I can't read. I can't read._

"Lights 50%." Panic. voice shaking slightly as he scrambled for one of the books that he kept in his room, almost falling on his face as he rushed to his desk grabbing at the item frantically. He could see everything else, he wasn't blind why the hell couldn't he read. He flipped through the pages of the book but to no avail. The hundreds of lines of text were all a blur it was like his brain was refusing to focus on the characters.

"Computer call Dr Reids room. Now."  _what in holy hell is going on, I've never experienced or heard of any illness or disease like this before._  He felt himself Un tense very slightly as a sleepy voice greeted him.

"Hey Leonard what's up, you okay?"

"No, no I'm not, I'm meant to be a doctor God damn it! but I have no idea what's wrong with me." his voice was like gravel and deadly serious.

"Whoa whoa whoa hold on a second I'm coming over. Stop panicking whatever it is I'm sure there is an explanation."

"Well of course there'll be an explanation but I've never in my life came across any illness or disease that makes a person un able to read. Unless I'm slowly losing my brain function…" He drifted off eyes widening. He heard laughter from the call before it cut off and a couple of seconds later there was a knock at his door. He hadn't even considered getting dressed as he opened the door glaring at the woman before him. "Why the hell is this funny." He growled as she stood in the doorway, hair down with a black silk robe wrapped around her.

"You need to calm down you're fine, you're dreaming Leonard." She said bluntly with a smile tugging at her lips as she regarded him in just his underwear. "I don't like wearing pajamas to bed either." She winked at him before letting herself in.

"what do you mean I'm dreaming, I've literally just woke up don't talk shit to me woman." Obviously he was pissed, she wasn't even taking him seriously.

"No really you are dreaming, and so am I. When you're dreaming you can't read because reading and dreaming are functions that happen in different sides of your brain, they don't cooperate in dreams. Though I've never shared a dream with someone so this is a first for me aswell… unless I'm dreaming that you're also dreaming." Alex crossed her arms and sat on the end of Leonards bed with a confused frown.

"You're serious… but..."

"Trust me I'm not entirely sure either, must be that drink Scotty gave us, it must actually work."

Leonard walked over to his bed and sat next to her putting his head in his hands before letting himself fall backwards. This was the most confusing thing he'd ever dealt with. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling hissing as the light burned his eyes. "Lights 10%" he grunted. "So you're telling me we're both dreaming, in the same dream, whilst asleep in completely separate rooms. And you can't read right now either." Bones spoke slowly more for himself than Alex.

"Yup." she leaned down and started stroking his hair as a means to try and comfort the confused man. "Though there was another dead give away for me that it was a dream, which is kinda annoying me."

"What?" Bones turned to face her with a raised brow.

"I woke up wearing a bra and thong, and I'm pretty sure I don't actually own them in real life. I mean cmon who sleeps in a bra for one, and now I gotta wake up and not be able to wear it because this is a dream. They're matching and everything." She whined as she plonked herself down next to Bones who was just quietly laughing at her.

"So while I was having a crisis you were looking at yourself in the mirror. I wish I was in your position… er not like that I meant-"

"perverted old man." she smirked at him propping her head up on one hand.

"You know that's not what I meant. Please if I woke up in your body I'd be more freaked out than anything else." Leonard shuddered jokingly pulling a disgusted face at the woman besides him.

"You are so rude, if I woke up in your body I'm not sure what I'd do first…" she trailed off eyes zoned out looking past Leonard at the wall behind him.

"Hey hey get your head out of the gutter I can see it in your eyes." he squinted at her accusingly.

" Do you think since this is a lucid dream we could actually change bodies if we thought about it hard enough." she shot up into a sitting position and frowned as if in deep thought.

"No no no don't you dare." Leonard jumped up till he was stood infront of her a panicked look on his face all she did in response was close her eyes and try focusing more. "Oi Witch." he growled putting his hands on her knees not getting any reaction, he did the first thing that came to mind and grabbed a fistful of hair and pulled. Her eyes flew open at that and she pushed him away hard.

"D-dont do that." She stammered looking down at her feet as she ran her fingers through her hair to the area he'd pulled.

"Look, I'm sure as hell not having another version of myself running around the place." he grumbled as he went back to laying on the bed. He frowned when she didn't move. Sitting up slowly he nudged her with his elbow. "M'sorry if that hurt, it was only meant to stop you from concentratin so hard."

"Oh don't worry you succeeded with that, just please don't do it again." she sighed.

"It can't have hurt that much, let me guess you like it a bit rough -" He stopped dead in what he was saying as he realised he was exactly right as she tensed up next to him. Heat rose to his cheeks and some rushed elsewhere without his consent. He groaned in frustration at the stupidity of his mistake. Of course he'd turned on the southern charm as he said it, just to realise he wasn't actually teasing her… actually, technically that's exactly what he had done, he didn't know If he was sorry about doing it anymore but he obviously wouldn't do it again if she was uncomfortable. How was he supposed to know the woman liked having her hair pulled?

"And he finally clicks on." she laughed lazily dissipating some of the tension in the air instantly.

"Well atleast I can threaten you with something now when you get extra cocky." He chided smirking to himself and lying back on the bed again.

"Take it back, don't you dare."

"Or what, you gonna pull my hair." He purred sarcastically with his eyes still closed. He said he wouldn't do it again, not that he was gonna let her off the hook.

"There's a lot of ways I can fuck with you Leonard, take it back." her voice was low almost sultry. She pinched his thigh as a type of warning to which he batted her with one of his hands.

"But what if you deserve it?" Leonard whined frowning a little as the skin on his thigh began to sting.

"Then pinch me or something."

"Doesn't seem embarrassing enough."

"I won't be the one left embarrassed in the end." She started to run a finger down his chest slowly over his abdomen and stomach, his eyes creaked open as she reached his belly button thinking she would stop there. But she continued down quickly reaching his crabs ladder he could feel the heat of his own skin against her cool fingertip and as she reached the hem of his underwear he realised she wasn't going to stop. His hand flew down and grabbed her wrist before she could go any further he locked eyes with her, noticing the mischievous glint in them as he let go of her wrist dropping her hand on the bed.

"I think, I get the picture." He whispered slightly breathless.  _Fuck me, who's dream is this._

"I don't think you do." she purred.

Before he could say anything she was on top of him, trapping him between her body and his mattress. Her legs resting at either side of his abdomen hovering above him for a second before leaning down. He could feel the heat from between her legs through the thin material of his boxers and he growled through gritted teeth as blood rushed south, every twitch of his cock was almost rubbing against her. His hands were clamped on her thighs to help him keep the small amount of control he had left, he didn't care if she had bruises afterwards. He could faintly make out the smug smile on her face as her tongue darted out wetting her lips, his eyes drifting down to the now exposed neck and collar bone, and the cleavage that was now on show since her robe had opened itself slightly. His eyes darted back up to hers and he growled again seeing the far too obvious lust in her eyes, before a look of affection seemed to replace the heated stare. Leonard could feel his frown and his clenched jaw, letting out a frustrated groan as his dick twitched and the tip grazed against her for less than a second he let his head fall back against the mattress frown relaxing a little.

"You sure know how to make a man's life hard." he grumbled frown finally leaving his face as he relaxed into the bed properly. He had no idea why he felt so relaxed about their current position, hadn't been with a woman in years and he was completely fine with one practically in his lap, well he supposed in some ways it made sense that he was fine with it.  _Stupid body._ Just because his body was ready for some action doesn't mean he was, it felt natural for some reason. Way too natural for how long they'd knew each other for, he would have thought their would be some awkwardness at least. Maybe that's what was scaring him. They clicked, but despite it feeling right it was far too soon.

"was that a pun at your own expense?" she looked down at him giving him a quizzical raised brow, and the cheekiest smile he'd ever seen. He let his hands relax on her thighs rubbing his thumb over the areas he'd dug his fingers into. He smirked slightly about to reply before she lowered herself again brushing against him teasingly. The friction was just enough to make him shiver before it was gone.

"Jesus woman, my equipment works dammit, stop testing me." Leonard growled out his voice throaty, eyes on fire. Yea he was coming across pretty aggressive even if he wasn't shouting but he was extremely frustrated, not just with how much control she currently had but with the fact she was playing with him like some toy.

"I take it back I don't think I'd want anyone else to see you like this, all angry and frustrated, I won't wake little Leonard up while we're working." one hand removed itself from the side of his head and stroked the stray strands of hair back off his forehead.

"Little Leonard?" McCoys voice was husky and low as he chuckled.  _I'm not having that, two can play at this game._

"Well that's what he's getting called until I meet hi-oh my god." Before she could finish he pushed her down and rolled his hips up, grinding into her heat before lying flat once again with her fully straddling him. He groaned squeezing his eyes shut, realising how stupid he had just been to try and tease her when all he could think about now was burying himself in her. He could feel her heat around his shaft, and the pressure my god, it was enticing he had to stop himself from rolling his hips repeatedly. He wanted the friction, he wanted her to move and grind on him. A small moan was breathed into his ear and he grabbed a fistful of hair for the second time that night looking up at her as her eyes half closed and her parted lips let out a tiny whimper.  _Fuck fuck fuck fuck._

"We can't do this." Leonard panted, his self control was wearing dangerously thin.

"But we're dreaming remember? Are you scared?" she purred half seriously as she pulled at the knot keeping her robe together. He watched as it fell down her shoulders and onto the bed behind her as she sat up straight. Of course he couldn't help but look, the air was thick in the room as he took in the sight before him, letting out a shaky breath he didn't know he'd been holding. The silence seemed almost deafening, all that could be heard were their shallow breaths. He couldn't see any bruise on the milky white skin currently being held by a lacy black bra, nor did he realise before now that her ass wasn't the only thing he wanted to grab, they looked the perfect size to be a handful for him, and Leonard did not have small hands by any means. Everything about her looked soft, the perfect amount of muscle and definition, and squishy in all the right places. His eyes kept traveling down taking in the toned stomach and small waist, the way her body curved to accommodate her wide hips, and the dimples he found in her back as he traced his hands over her hips. The way he knew he'd be able to hold onto her hips without having to be gentle or worry about hurting her, and the powerful thighs that he couldn't believe he was in between.  _Just_  the  _right amount of cushion for the pushin, and those legs_...  _this isn't happening in a dream. It just can't. It's too soon._

Without a second thought he flipped her over pressing her back into the mattress resting snugly between her legs, relishing in the way her hair was strewn over his pillows wildly. Her lips were parted ever so slightly and her breathing was shallow, green eyes were on fire but there was a look on her face as if she'd just realised something huge. "We aren't doing this in a dream, as much as I want too, we can't." Leonard breathed looking down at the Red head beneath him with a defeated look on his face. A hand snaked into his hair before tugging his head down gently, soft lips pressed against his forehead before letting go.

"I know." She smiled up at him far too innocently given their current position, but he could tell from her expression that she agreed.  _I wonder what changed her mind from her previous vendetta for my dick._

And just like that she started laughing, gripping his arms as she giggled tears almost streaming out of her eyes. "You think so fucking loudly, Leonard. I haven't changed my mind I just realised I'd rather wait, I don't do flings." she rasped still laughing to herself, a huge grin plastered in her face. "believe it or not, I actually like you, you dumb American. And that bloody southern accent of yours." she settled down, now just wearing a small smile.

"Well this has been one hell of a dream, almost sex, and a confession. You really need to work on the order you go about doing them though, you have it a bit backwards at the moment." He smirked at her soon morphing into a genuine smile as she started to blush slightly. "I'm not the one who started it so be careful who you call dumb, sweetheart." Of course Leonard couldn't help but annoy her with the word 'sweetheart' as it was one word he could exaggerate his accent with.

Before either of them could un tangle themselves, the door to Bones's quarters swished open. "Bones something is seriously wrong why the hell didn't you pick up your-" their captain stood completely still for a couple of seconds regarding the pair and the very compromising position they were in. "You come to find one doctor and end up getting two, Dr Reid if you could remove your hooks from my chief medical officer that would be appreciated, I need him to actually do his job without being distracted." The words were cold and felt like a slap to the face. Bones got up throwing Alex her robe which she put on hastily, the emotionless expression that had rested on her face after the initial shock of Jims remark unnerved him a bit. He turned to glare at his friend who was still stood in the doorway.

"That was cold, Jim." He warned, his voice low. Whatever was wrong with him there was no need to take it out on his medical staff.

"You tend to get cold when you aren't wearing any clothes." he snarled at bones. Spock appeared in the doorway soon after as Jim made his way further into the room stood directly in front of his cmo. "Dr Reid, care to offer an explanation." he turned his head and glared at the woman to his left as she was about to exit the room.

Her face mirrored that of Spocks as she turned to face her captain, posture stiff and formal. "I believe if yourself and Commander Spock are both experiencing a symptom in which you are unable to read, then it's logical that we are all in a deep sleep and are inhabiting the same dream." Her voice seemed hollow like the life had been sucked out of it.

He frowned at her his rage nearly bubbling over. "You know damn well that's not what I was asking, you think you can be a smart ass and get away with it after what I've just walked in on."

"What you suggest would be logical Doctor if it weren't for the fact that vulcans do not dream." Spock spoke seemingly Un affected by the angry tension in the room.

"My logic is sound, I'm aware that the four of us were the only people to accept chief engineers offer of a alcohol that he acquired named 'dreamjuice', from a rather suspicious store in Yorktown before departing. I conclude that it has placed us all in the same dream somehow, though I don't know how, nor can I explain the way in which it has done so." The flatness of her voice was starting to cause concern to even Spock who concluded that this was not normal behaviour for a typical human, it was as if she was suppressing her emotions.

"A fascinating theory doctor, if this is infact a dream I will make sure to report to the sick bay before my shift to clarify." Spock nodded in her direction.

"And how the hell do we know for certain that it's a dream. Dr Reid where are you going?" Jims head snapped back to her.

"To my quarters captain, I believe Dr McCoy can explain to you what I explained to him."

"You aren't going anywhere."

"Jim, stop it." Bones snarled.

"Bones, shut up that's an order."

"Jim you're over reacting, if you could stop being a complete ass for just one damn second I'd be more than happy to explain." he growled, the frown on his face threatening to become permanent.

Jim was about to retort feeling his rage hitting it's peak before a hand was resting on his shoulder. Spock was besides him stopping him from completely exploding on his best friend. "Fine."

Bones sighed running a hand through his hair, this dream had went to hell far more quickly than he'd anticipated. "Reading and dreaming are functions of two different sides of the brain Jim. They just don't co operate in dreams. And in any other dream you wouldn't notice or you'd know subconsciously that you're asleep. Because this is a shared dream it's turned into what seems to be a lucid dream, meaning we can control what happens in the dream, they're rare in general but experiencing it with three other people. It obviously makes it seem more like reality. I started this dream by waking up God damn it." Bones sat on the edge of his bed and stared at the floor, he sounded tired. Sometime during Bones's explanation Dr Reid had left.

"So we're all dreaming… in the same dream, at the same time." Jim seemed to calm down a little. "That explains why there isn't anyone else on the ship but the four of us…"

"I wouldn't know, I haven't left my room. But of course you know that. And for the record my com didn't make a sound." Bones ground out a hint of anger behind his words. He stood up to find himself a t shirt to throw on and a pair of sweatpants, since every man and his dog was suddenly in his room.

"Don't be like that Bones, I'm sorry." Kirk whined his anger completely dissipated. The confusion and fear of realising his entire crew was missing apart from three other people had freaked him out, then add to that the fact he couldn't read anything and neither could Spock. Finding his medical staff tangled in each other had just been the icing on the cake, the fact that they were both so oblivious had fueled his anger.

"It's not me you should be apologising too, you really were an ass back there. I would have offered up an explanation aswell but now I don't think you really deserve it." Bones was pissed but he was keeping his voice as level and quiet as he could.

"Though I can understand the initial shock I have to agree with Dr McCoy, you became unnecessarily aggressive and were indeed acting like 'an ass', and specifically targeted Dr Reid." Spock was looking at Jim with a raised brow.

"You may aswell have came in here and called her a slut, and just incase you haven't realised already, nothing happened and nothing was going to happen." Bones breathed, fed up of having to deal with all this already, it was so simple when it was just him in his room, hell even with Alex in here it hadn't been this tense, the atmosphere had been relaxed. Spock seemed to frown at McCoy for a second touching two fingers to the back of the man's hand.

"I can clarify that Leonard is in fact telling the truth captain, nothing was going to happen."

"How do you know-"

"McCoys thoughts and feelings are very loud, much like the man himself." Spock chided, trying his best to ease the atmosphere that had unfolded. Leonard looked grateful underneath his frown.

"She said the same thing…" All Spock was getting from the doctor was now confusion and he wasn't even touching the man anymore.

"Okay okay, you've both made your point I was an asshole and I'm feeling really guilty about it now, don't worry I am going to apologise. You were both so oblivious to what could have been something really fucking serious it just threw me off." he said honestly. " and for the record Bones I never thought I'd ever walk in on you in that position, back at the academy it was always you walking in on me. Never took you for the one night stand type of guy."

"That's because I'm not" Bones grumbled face palming as he stood in front of the two men now fully clothed. "And you never walked in on me because I was never with anyone, I haven't been since- well yea, the divorce."

"You're kidding…" Jim eyes widened. "It's been years!"

"Trust me, I know." Bones deadpanned.

"Humans never cease to surprise me."

"Spock do you even have sex?" Jim turned to his first officer genuine curiosity on his face.

"Jim leave the man alone." Leonard looked towards Spock remembering that he'd confessed to some confusion and conflict on a similar matter while they were on that God forsaken planet. Spock had decided to return to new vulcan to, how Leonard had phrased it, 'make vulcan babies',but all that had changed once they got back to Yorktown in one piece.

Spock seemed to tense up slightly but relaxed when he noted that these were in fact two of his closest friends. " I do, or more accurately I have. However I am no longer in such a relationship, and Leonard your concern is appreciated. But I have come to the conclusion that it would be illogical of me to go and 'create vulcan babies' as you phrased it, it has come to my attention that due to my mixed biology I would not be an ideal candidate as a mate or a father…" Spock paused looking down, this was a very private topic and he felt some apprehension talking about it, however he trusted these men with his life. "It is also possible that I am in fact infertile, seeking a human mate would be more logical, though statistically improbable."

"ah cmon man there's plenty of fish in the sea, it's not guaranteed that you're not fertile either, even if you are you could still find someone." Bones put his hand on Spock's shoulder in a reassuring manner.

"Leonard I do not understand what the amount of fish in the earth's oceans has to do with the current topic."

Jim laughed at that. "What Bones is trying to say is, there's plenty of people out there, you'll find one for you. Plenty of girls and guys out there."

"I had not previously considered a partnership with the same gender."

"Well sorry but I can't give any advice in that department I prefer my screws without nuts, I'm sure if you need to ask anything Jim will be able to answer for you though."

"Bones!"

"Cmon Jim nobody cares about this shit anymore it's the 23rd century. I'm pretty sure Dr Reid has had her fair share of both partners, not entirely sure don't hold me to that, but I saw her giving Uhura the once over when she first met her." Bones raised his brows as if he was letting out a big secret. "Speaking of which don't you need to go apologise."

"Yea yea I do, walk with me?" he pleaded,looking at them with what could only be described as puppy dog eyes.

"Fine, cmon." Bones rolled his eyes dragging Jim out of his room as Spock followed.

"This is a pretty long dream don't ya think? Jim whined growing a tad nervous as they got closer to Dr Reids door.

"I do not have sufficient information regarding dreams to confirm or deny your statement, Jim." Spock spoke evenly, an eyebrow raising suspiciously as the door they approached opened by itself. As they approached the door they could feel a faint breeze blowing, but it wasn't a pleasant cool breeze, like the type you'd get from air conditioning or a warm spring day, it was dry and hot. Sticky almost.

Spock almost audibly gasped as he entered the room, that was no longer a room, but a dessert filled with red and orange sand the clear pale blue sky the perfect contrast. He could see rocky Mountains in the distance as the sun beat down on them, he felt a sudden overwhelming sadness, yet at the same time he felt at home. Because he was in fact home, though not in reality everything around him felt real. He turned to look at the two men beside him, his face would appear blank to any other human, but his friends could seemingly see right through him. Jim reached out a hand and squeezed his shoulder in an attempt to comfort, he had grew accustomed to the captains habit of touching him over the years. He had also been told many times that he had very human eyes and sometimes despised the fact they seemed to give away his emotional state despite how in control he may be. This was not one of those moments, the small act of kindness was welcome.

"It's beautiful Spock, I'm sweatin to high heaven but it's damn beautiful…" McCoy trailed off, his eyes drifting over the landscape in front of them in awe. Spock smiled inwardly at this, he wished he could have shown his friends Vulcans beauty in reality. But this thought was illogical and impossible, so he buried the feeling deep down. Jim was smiling at him hand still on his shoulder, his brilliant blue orbs shone bright in sun, a hint of worry in his eyes, and for a second Spock found himself distracted by the blue lagoon that was James kirk's eyes. He snapped out of it quickly.

"I am adequate Jim, your concern isn't necessary, I was merely caught off guard at the dream's ability to recreate my home planet so perfectly." Spock spoke quieter than usual, though not by much. He took a deep breath and turned to gaze back out upon the vast scape of land before them, he would not admit to savouring the moment.

"Hey who's that? Where did that rock come from." Bones questioned his eyes squinting at a silhouette in the distance stood on top of what appeared to be a boulder.

"That can't be…" Jim spoke as they all paced towards the direction of the rock. Suddenly they were right in front of it, it was like time had jolted them forward because they were taking to long.

"Dreams are fascinating things." A familiar voice greeted them, a small smile crinkled the already wrinkled skin as the figure stepped down from his perch. The rock was about six foot wide and tall, and as he walked the rock seemed to form stairs beneath his feet.

"Ambassador Spock." Spock spoke his voice steady as he tried to calm his mixed emotions.

"Spock, Jim, ah Leonard." the old vulcan seemed to chuckle slightly to himself. "He will be pleased to see you."

"I'm sorry what?" Leonard grunted raising a brow in confusion. This dream was just getting weirder and weirder.

"Ambassador we actually came here looking for someone, you're kind of in her quarters…" Jim trailed off trying to hold himself back from grabbing the older vulcan into a hug, the man was at rest and finally hopefully with his crew, there was no need to crowd him, but by God Jim wanted to.

"You are talking about Alex right?" Another man appeared from behind the rock, he seemed similar in a strange way but was also foreign. The only person who recognised the man was Spock. Both of them. The man wore an old gold starfleet uniform and had dusty blonde hair with tanned skin, a fair amount of wrinkles covered his face but nowhere near as much as ambassador Spock. He grinned at them one by one before looking at Dr McCoy and raising both brows. "There's no way that's actually Bones he looks nothing like him." He leaned towards ambassador Spock and whispered I little too loudly.

Bones frowned and crossed his arms "who the hell are you, only Jim calls me that."

Jims eyes widened in realisation and his head snapped towards Spock in shock but before he could say anything the alternate reality version of himself started talking again.

"Never mind that's definitely him."

"Captain?" the ambassador raised a brow towards the alternate Jim seemingly accusing him of something.

"Ah cmon Spock all these years waiting to see you again and you're gonna call me captain, there's no need to feel jealous. It was just an observation."

"Vulcans do not get jealous, Jim." Ambassador Spock spoke with a raised brow and then what seemed to be a smirk. "Indeed, my younger self does look strikingly similar to Commander Spock. We are after all one in the same, Jim." his voice was smooth and soothing as he glanced at the man to his side a glint of something Jim couldn't quite make out in the older vulcans eyes.

"Wait a damn second, you're Jim!?" Bones finally clicked on, eyes going wide. Jim rolled his eyes.

"You've definitely been distracted by more than her legs. I hope for her sake not everything works this slowly." Jim grumbled face palming with a smirk as he could feel the glare from his cmo. His alternative self started laughing, wrapping an arm around elder Spocks shoulder.

"May I ask how you are both communicating with eachother without speaking aloud." Spock questioned his eyes darting between the two men, and how close they were. Body's flush together from the side as the alternate Jim had pulled him in closer. He watched as Ambassador Spocks hand came up to the one on his shoulder, but instead of removing it like Spock had expected, he extended two fingers and touched their finger tips together. He froze. A vulcan kiss.

"I think you already know the answer to that Commander Spock." the alternate Jim winked at him before unraveling his arm from the ambassador. "Anyway you fellas are in the right place looking for Dr Reid. Spock has already spoken to her about something. But why do I get the feeling one of you has said something… not so great."

"Hey don't look at me I'm in her good books, at least I think I am." Bones defended raising his hands. "you'll forgive me for not sharing the details." He frowned at the two men in front of them in his usual grumpy manner.

"I walked in on them, said some nasty stuff." Jim waved a hand in front of him as he spoke frowning at himself remembering the stuff he said.

"fascinating, in our reality it took them almost a year to admit to having feelings for the other."

"Nothing happened damn it. And just to remind everyone this is a dream." Bones growled.

"Bones shut up that the most compromising position I've seen you in… ever!" Jim half shouted exaggerating with his hands mockingly.

"Just you wait till she starts wearing the starfleet regulation dresses." The older kirk spoke looking at bones with knowing eyes. "I have a feeling you're gonna walk in on a lot worse than whatever you saw tonight. That goes for both of you." the older Jim pointed at Jim and Spock. Jim couldn't help but chuckle as bones shifted uncomfortably not liking the fact everyone was trying to predict his future sex life.  _If anything ever actually happened._

"I'd love to talk to you both for a lot longer but I really do need to go and apologise to the doc. Do you know wher-"

"You don't need to apologise for anything captain, I completely understand why you were annoyed." the red head came out from behind the rock with a small smile and plonked herself on the floor cross legged now in her usual blue uniform and trousers. "You thought your crew was gone, and were annoyed that we didn't notice or seem to care."

"Well she's hit the nail on the head there…" Leonard grumbled knowing exactly what Jim was like.

Jim rolled his eyes at his friend and turned back to the other doctor "I know we're dreaming but for what it's worth I'm sorry. I was obviously just grossed out to hell seeing Bones in that position." he made a mocking gagging face and his alternate self just laughed. Bones just folded his arms in protest frowning at the older Jim.

"It's a good job you didn't walk in 30 seconds earlier then." she winked playfully. "and no whatever this is isn't going to affect us working together, this is still just a dream, nothing like that will happen again." she looked down at her feet in defeat.

Leonard mocked being deeply offended and flung a hand to his chest and frowned at her jokingly. "I feel so used, I knew you just wanted my body." he could see her trying to suppress a giggle because of the pursed lips as she tried to hold back a smile and failed miserably.

"making a promise you cannot keep is unwise." Ambassador Spock raised an eyebrow laughter dancing in his wise eyes. "Dr Reid please remember what we previously discussed, it is as I have already told you,vitally important. For many reasons, which I cannot reveal to you at present, but I ask you to trust me as you would the rest of your crew, I feel this dream will be ending soon." his voice started to fade and the world around them was becoming blurred as if they were looking through an out of focus camera.

He gave them all a sincere final nod. The last thing they all saw was the two men embrace each other and put their heads together before there was a deafening ringing.

* * *

Spock opened his eyes slowly, for the first time in his life finding it an extremely disorientating experience to actually wake up and get out of bed. He blinked at least 25% more than usual waking up from a dream rather than his normal dreamless sleep.

He would report to sick bay before his shift started to inform Dr McCoy and Dr Reid that he indeed remember the dream and despite the initial disorientation when waking up, he was feeling just as well rested as he normally would. He turned to check the time as he sat up in bed and noticed that it was twenty minutes later than the time he usually woke up at.  _Fascinating_. It seemed he had slept through his alarm for the first time in… well, forever. This made the trip to med bay impossible in the new time frame given, so he instead opted to send them a written message on his data padd. He wondered how Jim had reacted to the dream, had he had any adverse affects, had he seen their counterparts vulcan kiss? Did James Kirk even known what a vulcan kiss was?  _How will Jim react to this information if he noticed at all, however, it is most likely he will have noticed he is astonishingly observant. Moreover how was sharing a dream with multiple people possible, I shall have to do some experiments._ saving the thoughts of conducting some experiments later Spock promptly finished his morning hygiene routine and headed to the bridge for the start of his shift.

The mornings shift was uneventful, their current mission had most of the crew bored, the only thing that was notable was the Captain changing his bet on the wager that was currently going on about when Dr McCoy and Dr Reid would finally 'hook up'. When asked why he was changing his original bet he simply told the helmsman that he had evidence. Which had started a very un professional debate among many members of the crew. Luitenent Uhura had notably taken an interest in the wager aswell and had stated that she was going to 'arrange a girls night' in response to the captain challenging her over never being able to find out what he knew. All in all the efficiency of the crew had decreased by 6.4% during the morning shift but moral had been raised by atleast 23.6% when being indulged in the act of gossiping. That and he had noted the fact he had been spending approximately 6% more of his time on shift (during this lax period of work) watching Jim smiling from ear to ear and bantering with other crew members, surprisingly on all the occasions he had turned to see Spock looking at him he had responded with either a grin, a warm smile or simply got up out of his chair to go over and talk with Spock whilst the rest of the crew gossiped. He couldn't name the feeling of warmth that seemed to spread out from his chest as he watched his captain, obnoxious, loud, cocky. But undeniably happy. Some time during the day they had arranged to meet up and discuss a request that had been sent to the captain from Dr Reid, it seemed well thought out however still needed further discussion than Spock just reading the request Jim had forwarded to Spocks own padd. Chess was also discussed as a possibility afterwards.

* * *

"So what's with the quiet music now then? Gotta admit it makes coming into sick bay feel a lot less daunting. That and Dr Reid, I didn't believe the other guys in engineering at first when they said she was smoking hot, but the first time I saw her in the gym at the squat rack i-Ouch!" the ensign rubbed his neck where the hypo had just assaulted him and looked up at the grumbling cmo who was treating him currently wearing an expression that screamed guilty and trying to feign innocence, eyebrows raised and looking anywhere but at the man he'd just hypod.

"Dr Reids idea, and I hope for your sake she doesn't hear you talking about her like that kid, you do not want to go and underestimate a woman that has the medical knowledge to kill you and make it look like an accident." Bones finished up labeling the ensigns blood samples and frowned at the man sat on the bio bed in front of him.

Honestly he knew people judged others to a certain extent before getting to know a person but it really ticked him off when guys just saw women as a piece of ass. Not that women don't do the same to men or anything but by God they at least seemed to keep it to themselves a lot better than guys seemed too. Maybe he was just not liking the fact they were talking about Alex in particular in that sense, but then again he knew if the ensign had spoke about Nyota in that sense he'd have said something equally as defensive and sounded equally annoyed whilst doing so. Two very important and different positions that were currently filled by two women he classed as friends, that they were more qualified for than anyone else on this ship, they deserved some damn respect God damn it.

Not that Dr Reid was more qualified than himself but as another doctor that was most certainly needed, rather than a nurse, he felt genuinely insulted that all people could see was her appearance, not her intelligence or the fact that she was a normal person with a personality of her own. "You shouldn't judge people just based on looks either, now I'm not the one with the psychology degree but even I can tell you it's not good for your health." Leonard raised a brow at the younger man who was looking down at the ground as if he was being scolded by a high school professor.

"I didn't mean any disrespect by it doc, I know she's a great doctor and here for a reason, and Scotty insists she's a good laugh. You've got to admit that she's pretty hot though, I mean you work with her day in day out you can't have not noticed. Hey do you think she'd say yes if I asked her if she wanted to grab a coffee?" the ensign began rambling again and Leonard couldn't help the snort that escaped as he heard the last words leave his patient's mouth. Thank God this guy rambles because no way in hell was I about to discuss with him how attractive my co worker is, gossip spreads like wildfire on this damn ship.

"considering the reason you're here and the fact you're about to go pee in a cup I don't think you're in the position to ask anyone out for coffee." Bones raised a brow comically at the small blonde man.

"It's just coffee doc jeez."

"Uhuh sure it is, maybe you should stop asking so many people out for coffee then you wouldn't be here getting diagnosed with what's probably chlamydia and needing treatment for thrush. Now go pee in the cup." Leonard sighed trying to hand the man the small clear plastic cup and waving him away.

"... Sorry did you say something doc?" the red shirt though speaking to McCoy was looking right past him at the other side of the med bay. Leonard just grumbled repeating what he'd just said, his frown deepening.

"Are you listening to me kid?"  _what the hell is this idiot staring at._  As Leonard turned to find the object of the ensigns distraction he vaguely registered the change in song in the back of his mind and immediately froze in place when he saw her.

**_~Well she's all you'd ever want, she's the kind I'd like to flaunt and take to dinner_ **

**_Well she always knows her place, she's got style she's got grace, she's a winner_ **

**_She's a lady_ **

**_Whoaa ohh ohh_ **

**_She's a lady_ **

**_Talking about that little lady, and the lady is mine~_ **

Had he realised he was openly staring with an admittedly slack jaw he would have snapped out of it sooner. But all he could do was take in the long hypnotic legs on display for the entire med bay to see. The way the starfleet dress wasn't meant to accommodate for the thick toned thighs and the ass that came with them. Leonard was now starting to really get behind the idea of being able to squat 90+ kg. The dress pinched in at her waist extenuating the hour glass figure as it stretched over her wide hips and backside, the tightness of the dress discretely flaunting her other two assets despite them being completely covered by the dress with no skin showing. But everything he'd just seen was momentarily forgotten as soon as his eyes reached her face and the glorious smile she wore whilst chatting to a patient from the end of their bio bed. Her hair was in its usual messy bun that had it covering the tops of her ears and framing her face just perfectly, Leonard found himself imagining what it would be like to wake up to that smile on a morning before promptly coming to his senses and turning back to his patient with a huge frown, realising he'd been staring for a solid 30 seconds.

"Go pee in the cup. Now." he ground out giving the ensign a stern look. The red shirt seemed to give him a confused and then knowing look before taking the plastic cup from Leonard's hands and disappearing. He didn't say a word when he returned, and the only thing he said when leaving was the usual 'thanks doc.' If rumours hadn't already been going around they were definitely going to now.

* * *

"So what she's asking me is if she can film around the ship as part of an online blog. Just snippets here and there of the crew, down time and occasionally at work though she has said she'll be sticking to the med bay with that, because obviously that's where she's needed." Kirk spoke slowly mulling over the idea in his head. He couldn't see anything wrong with this as long as it kept secret missions and orders secret and didn't interfere with work, but the publicity could be both bad and good for them all, and could possibly endanger the crew if a third party got hold of personal information on certain crew members and decided to use it against them. This was a tricky one.

"Captain, though I understand your worries granting her permission to carry out this task. However,under guidelines and particular rules it could benefit starfleet greatly, and also gives the general public a chance to relate with the crew. Instead of simply being seen as celebrities they can be identified with on an individual level as normal people." Spock stood in Jims quarters with his hands firmly behind his back, posture perfect as always.

"Your right Spock, it could even give some insight into what being on a ship is like and the relationships and bonds you make with other crew members. Of course we'll have to keep it strictly light hearted, they already know a lot of the disasters and awful situations we go through, in fact I'm sure many starships go through, but the enterprise the most, apparently. They find these things out through the news anyhow so there isn't any harm in showing some positive things right?" Kirk still sounded slightly unsure but the more he thought about it the more it made sense.

"indeed captain, I suggest we have Dr Reid create a trial video under the rules you present her with and then view the finished product before it is uploaded. Of course she should state in the video that this is aiming to show the more positive side to working on a starship. I suspect that because of her recent addition of followers starfleet may experience an increase in cadet applications by 15.7% in a year. Crew morale will likely increase by 18.9% as I suspect she will catch occasional footage that they would categorise as fond memories. "

"You've really put a lot of thought into this haven't you Spock?" Jim grinned at his first officer from his desk chair.

"Yes Jim, as long as important and confidential information is kept out of these video logs the positives far outway the negatives…" Spock paused for a second. "I also believe it is important for the public to see us and accept us as we are, regardless of species, or any other category for that matter. Such as gender, sexual orientation, religion or-"

"It's alright Spock I know exactly what you mean, I'll let Dr Reid know the conditions of the agreement, could you write me a short report on this matter say 2,000 words. Just a brief overview of the request, the terms we gave, and all of those statistics that suggests it'll help the crew and starfleet." Kirk grinned at his first officer he actually had a really positive feeling about this…

"Of course captain I'll have it sent to you before tomorrows shift, is there anything else I can help you with?" Spock raised a brow at his some what giddy captain.

"Yea actually, fancy a game of chess Spock? I have a feeling these upcoming missions aren't going to be quite as simple as they have been so far. They always give us a good couple of easy missions after saving a planet and such." He choked out a laugh but it was humourless. "Not gunna have much free time in the upcoming weeks."

Spock didn't like the fact his captain had suddenly went from ecstatic too filled with dread. "May I ask what is bothering you, Jim?" Spock sat down at the table and pulled out the chessboard, he knew in time Jim would explain what was on his mind, they were friends after all, more than friends in an alternate reality, but either way the alternate reality at this moment in time, was irrelevant. What mattered at present was helping his captain… his friend. Jim. Ease his troubled mind. Jim dragged himself over to the table and slumped down in his chair.

Jim smiled at Spock using his name without having to be reminded "I'm white as usual right?"

"of course."

They played In silence for a couple of minutes, just being content with the others company. Spock knew as well as McCoy that there was no use in pushing for a reply when it came to James Kirk, Jim would talk when he was ready.

"So what's happening with you and Uhura,now that you've figure out that a human would be a more logical mate I guess you're gunna be getting back together huh?"

Spock remained silent for a second trying to process the direction this conversation was going and if it would eventually end with the captain revealing what was really bothering him. He decided to humor the man. "No I do not believe we will be re starting a romantic relationship at this time, we both came to the conclusion that it was a more logical choice to remain friends. Myself coming to the conclusion that if it was truly meant to be I would not have taken our 'breakup', as humans call it, so easily."

Jim just blinked from his side of the table, when he'd asked he'd honestly expect the vulcan to shut him out, not openly discuss his feelings. That thing that vulcans claimed not to have, but also claimed to feel more deeply than humans at the same time? Yea, he never could wrap his head round it either.

"So what are you gunna do now then? You not really interested in a relationship or do you just wait till people throw themselves at you like Uhura did?" Jim had no idea where that sudden anger had came from and regretted it immediately when he saw Spock frown at him with confusion in his eyes. "Spock I'm sorry I have no idea why that came out the way it did, you don't need to answer that question either." Jim leaned forward, taking his focus off the game for a second and rested his head in both hands. He was hardly focused on the game anymore anyway.

"You did not approve of my relationship with lieutenant Uhura, Captain?" Spock raised a brow towards the frustrated figure in front of him. "May I inquire as to why?"

"No, no you may not. And I didn't say that I didn't approve, stop putting words in my mouth Spock." Jim growled, in all honesty he couldn't answer Spock's question anyway because he had no idea why he didn't approve of them being together. They were both very good friends and excellent officers, it just always felt odd to him, especially seeing them making out on the transporter pad for the first time. So fucking weird, and not something he wanted to see. Of course it had been years since that had occurred but all kirk knew was that he didn't like it. He really, really didn't like it. Was he going so insane that he couldn't figure out whatever this feeling was that had him feeling iffy whenever he saw the pair in a romantic setting? He seriously needed to talk to Bones.

"Your tone suggests that you are becoming defensive, and therefore backs my previously statement that you did not in fact approve of my romantic relationship with lieutenant Uhura."

"And so what if I didn't approve Spock? Did I ever get involved in anyway that resulted in you splitting up with Uhura? No. I treat you both exactly the same as I treat you now and don't you dare-"

"You were not directly involved in our breakup no, but I can confirm you were one of many reasons." Spock leaned forward slightly in his seat his jaw locked in a tense manner and his eyebrows frowning ever so slightly despite his even if not sharp tone of voice.

Jim was stunned into silence, for a second slack jawed at what Spock had just hissed at him. Before anger boiled over the confusion. "And just what exactly are you implying Commander?" he was out of his seat stood braced against the table, knuckles turning white from gripping the sides so hard.  _Wouldn't it be a shame I messed up those perfect fucking bangs and broke his nose._

"I do not wish to further discuss this matter, as it has involuntarily caused a disagreement which I had not anticipated happening." Spock stood straightening out his uniform and tucking in his chair.

"Spock don't you dare walk out on me."  _well that sounded a lot more needy than threatening, nice going lady killer._

"It would be acceptable for us to resume this game at a later date captain, and perhaps this discussion when you are no longer letting your emotions control you." Spock moved to walk out but before he could get to the door Jim was in front of him. He could feel the anger radiating off the man, those intense blue eyes level with his and only inches away were staring through the vulcan with seething rage. Suddenly the space around them both seemed very still and small, a sort of tension hung in the air that neither man could name.

"You don't get to leave after telling me I had a part in your breakup and not clarifying how. Especially when I was never involved in any of your personal affairs." kirk's voice came out quiet hints of anger still present but there was something else, betrayal? Hurt. Spock came to the conclusion that along with a mixture of other emotions Jim was likely mostly hurt by the accusation. "That's just not fair Spock." It was barely a whisper, but it didn't go unheard, the softening of Jim features and the look of betrayal on his face and in those brilliant blue eyes didn't go unnoticed either.

Spock almost felt ashamed for making his friend second guess himself. Almost. However, though Spock did not regret his separation with Uhura, he didn't entirely understand her reasoning for using Jim as a reason for their separation. Therefore he could not clarify this to Jim even if he wanted to. He did want to confide in his friend, perhaps then Jim could deciphered the meaning behind lieutenant Uhura's words. But he found himself Un able to bring himself to explain at present. It would be logical to attempt to explain this to the captain at a later date giving him time to calm himself and for myself to meditate.

And in coming to this conclusion he did something he would not normally do, and would not even consider doing with anyone else. Spock pressed their foreheads together and placed a hand on Jims shoulder. Closing his eyes he focused on sending calming thoughts through their skin to skin contact before speaking. "Jim, I find myself un able to explain at this time, I find that I do not fully comprehend Nyotas words, but I can assure you that we will continue this discussion at a later date. It has come to my attention that I am in need of meditation, and you are irritable due to being on the ship with minimal work for an extended period of time."

Jim sighed knowing Spock was right, atleast the man had confided in him though right? And he did say they'd talk about it another time. He didn't realise how tense he'd been these past few weeks until Spock had pointed it out. Maybe he should head to the gym and burn off some steam before bed. What was giving Jim a strange warmth that spread through his chest was the trust Spock had in him to be able to do this simple gesture considering how much vulcans hated being touched, especially skin to skin contact. He found himself looking up into brown eyes full of concern. He hadn't realised how close they were,  _hell if this was a romance movie this would be the scene where they ki- okay this is Spock, whilst he's not a bad looking guy I don't think he'd appreciate these rambling and inappropriate thoughts. Wait what._  Spock pulled away hand still on Jims shoulder.

"Yea I guess you're right Spock, probably best we talk about it some other time. I'm sorry, I'm just so uptight recently." Jim pinched the bridge of his nose in silent frustration. "We also need to talk about you almost heading back to vulcan without telling me."

"As I have been informed captain, you also did something similar in nearly abandoning your position as captain and taking up a new position as an admiral." Spock retorted with an un amused brow taking his hand off Jim's shoulder.

Shit how did he find out about that… "Yea you got me there, okay look, we're meant to be friends, so no more of this keeping shit from each other, especially important things. I'm sorry i didn't say anything spock." Jim looked down at his feet as if it would take away the guilt he felt.

"I too am sorry, Jim." They both felt the tension leave the room almost immediately, and they both straightened up, Jim offering a small smile to his first officer before grabbing a bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

"I'll walk you to your quarters Spock I'm gunna head to the gym." They walked quietly down the hall together before coming too a brief stop outside Spocks door. "See you before shift for breakfast?"

"Of course, Jim." Spock nodded with what Jim knew to be a small smile, anybody else would just see a very slight upturn of the vulcans lips. But Jim knew better, after working so closely with Spock for all these years he could read the man like a book.

* * *

"We still on for tonight? I've picked a film that you're probably gunna love and hate me for." Alex said grinning leaning on Leonard's desk.

"I can't believe I agreed to this but yea sure, it better not be a rom com." Leonard grumbled to himself looking up at the seemingly giddy redhead in front of him.

"Oh God no, it's not a rom com, but it's probably gonna tear your heart out a couple of times."

"hold on am I going to have to deal with you crying? What type of torture are you trying to put me through witch?" Leonard looked up at her and started laughing at the look of offence on her face.

"I swear I won't cry I've watched it too many times for it to have that effect on me anymore." she waved his laughter away as he continued to grin from his seat at his desk.

"I'm calling bullshit let me guess it's definitely a romance movie?" he raised a brow at her wicked smirk still in place.

"Yes and no. It's not really entirely focused on just a couple, and it's based around the time of world war two. It's complicated and I really don't want to spoil it for you."

"sure it's complicated, I'm gunna be honest with you I don't have high expectations for this one." He raised his hands up admitting defeat. "but I  _technically_  chose the last one so I'm stuck. Is there at least any actors that I'll have seen in other old movies in it?"

"Well you said you'd seen xmen right? The guy who plays wolverine is in it, Hugh Jackman." she sighed contently saying the actor's name aloud clasping both her hands together.

"Oh God I know exactly what this is gonna turn into." he chuckled to himself putting his head in his hands.

"what? What are you talking about?"

"Am I being made to watch this movie just because you want to have at a dead actor."

"Well either way Hugh Jackman is long gone so I'm stuck with you." she stuck her tongue out. "He was a beautiful man though, but no seriously it's a good film, you hear that? I said film, like it's supposed to be called." she chided.

Not that many people knew, apart from maybe nurse chapel and uhura, but Leonard and herself had been slowly hanging out a little more often than usual. Well she had a feeling they were starting too anyway. Just last week they'd somehow both ended up watching an old (pre ww3) movie in Leonards quarters. Completely by coincidence it wasn't arranged, Alex had went to deliver a stack of data padds to him that Leonard had forgotten to take with him to go over the night before. He told the computer to open the door from his bed  _lazy bastard,_  and when she'd plonked them all on his desk he'd said _"You can stay and watch it if you want, I've seen you glancing at the screen more than once."_ Obviously she knew it was a smooth way of asking for company, and could she blame the man, she was a delight. And you know...she may want to spend a little more time with the man after that shared dream they had. Not that she was expecting any action.

_I mean I probably wouldn't say no if something started, but I also kinda think I like him... I definitely like him. Otherwise I wouldn't be so willing to go to bed with him if he so much as asked. Jesus Alex you really need to get a hold over this crush, nothing is happening until you're emotionally ready, stop being hormonal and horny it's not a good look... Well it's not a good impression to be giving off just yet. Besides if you go in for that this soon there's no way in hell he'll take you seriously. Why have I started talking to myself in third person? Ughhhh._

She groaned to herself at the jumble of thoughts rolling around in her head, all that she knew was that she had growing feelings for the man, of both affection and annoyance at times, but mostly the former. She was serious about it and wasn't going to fuck up any chance she might have in the future to... Maybe... Claim Leonard so that no other women could have him. A relationship. She shivered at the word, it'd been a very long time since she'd been in a relationship, and the last one hadn't ended very well. It had ended in a horrific way. But she felt good thinking about that possibility with Leonard, it gave her a warm fuzzy feeling in her chest and made her smile like a crazy woman. She'd never felt this comfortable with anyone after such a short period of time. Despite the frown he liked to wear constantly and his grumpy demeanor with most patients he cared, he cared a hell of a lot. She was pretty sure underneath the brash attitude was a guy that understood a lot more than he let on about life and hardship, he understood and he genuinely cared. It wasn't just a job for him. And she felt th exact same way. Helping people wasn't just their job, it was their life.

* * *

When he did eventually turn up at her door he was quickly ushered in, the lights were pretty dim and he noticed two pizza boxes on her bed and a bowl of what looked like popcorn.  _Damn she really thought this through, the way to any man's heart is through his stomach._  He noticed immediately that she wasn't in her uniform instead a loose pair of slacks and what seemed to be an old home made crop top, some old shirt that looked like it had been assaulted by a pair of scissors years ago. Her hair was still up in a messy bun as she dragged him to sit on the bed beside her.

"I hope you like pepperoni pizza or we can never be together." she said with the most serious look on her face that Leonard actually started full on laughing at her which also set her off giggling. "That came out way more harsh than it was supposed too." Oh my god why am i like this... his laugh is amazing.

"People think you're some sophisticated classy woman when in reality you're a bit of a idiot." he said still looking at her comically.

"God people actually think I'm sophisticated?" she laughed.

"Well that and some other things, had to swerve an ensign away from asking you out for coffee because you showed up today in that damn dress. Came in for treatment for thrush and chlamydia, like sure they're both treatable but don't go trying to pass it on, it's just idiotic." Bones grumbled rolling his eyes at the memory. "I've now also got that bastard song by Tom Jones ingrained in my mind because of you."

"thanks for saving me from a cup of coffee and awkward conversation. And hey it's a good song!"

"the only reason you think that, is because you want to 'have sex with his voice', yea I heard you talking to Nyota about him." Leonard air quoted with his fingers sarcastically and threw her a devious smirk.

"Not sure why I'm attracted to his voice I just am, his singing voice doesn't even have his welsh accent it's just so deep-"

"I did not come here to be told my accent isn't good enough for you, you sure know how to make a man feel welcome." He pushed her playfully so she teetered dangerously on the edge of the bed. "any how you think I'm just gunna sit down and watch this movie straight away without checking out your quarters like you did to me?" Leonard plucked a slice of pizza out of the biggest box and started pacing around the room scanning the music memorabilia she seemed to have collected, mostly that from a long gone singer named David Bowie apparently, he'd ask her about that another time when she undoubtedly tried to explain her obsession with the man. He noticed the two guitars in the corner of her room hanging from her wall aswell, one a hefty jazz bass with a white body and red pickguard, the other an acoustic guitar.

"Hey what's this?" he picked up a tiny toy replica of the enterprise off a shelf rolling it between his fingers, it was clearly made of metal, well made, and hand painted too. But worn down because of excessive use. He felt the atmosphere in the room change sombre immediately and couldn't help the nervous swallow he did, he didn't want to ruin the night.

"That belonged to someone I knew back in Yorktown, she was obsessed with the enterprise, said one day she'd fly away and be amongst the stars exploring and that she'd make sure she took me with her. Turns out it didn't quite happen that way…" Alex trailed off her voice barely a whisper. She took the small toy from Leonard gently and smiled at it fondly, her eyes being the only things that betrayed a deep set sadness. She pointed to a tiny jar that was attached to a leather neck tie. "She couldn't take me exploring so I brought her with me instead. It's probably the only decent thing her parents ever did for her."

Leonard let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and looked over at her, noticing the slight frown that she wore and the missing fire from her eyes, the emerald green somehow seemed dulled and empty. He knew that feeling, he knew exactly what losing someone you cared about was like. Some people would refuse to talk to anyone, others needed to talk about their loss. But some just held it all in until they were asked by someone they thought they could trust. "What was her name?" He decided to just go with instinct on this one, no point in tip toeing around the topic.

She looked up at him and smiled, I glint of something returning to her eyes. "Amelia. She was ten when I came to Yorktown, she would have been 16 this year." she paused looking up at him thoughtfully for a second. "Thanks for not saying sorry, I hate it when people apologise for something they couldn't help."

"No problem, I hate that aswell." he put an arm over her shoulder leaving there sides flush against eachother in a casual way, a small sigh escaped Alexs mouth and he felt her body relax and she rested her head on his shoulder. They gazed at the little enterprise replica a little longer and he began rubbing his thumb soothingly over her arm. "Just remember to take her down with you when you go on your first away mission, and please don't go getting yourself injured I've already gotta deal with Jim having a designated bio bed. It's been pretty quiet lately but you're soon gonna realise why I need your help."

She smiled at him taking in his half worried expression. "is this the infamous doctor McCoy telling me to be careful and admitting to needing my help? And I heard you didn't get taught about bedside manner." Her tone was soft but her eyes were smiling as she looked up at him.

 _Good, don't ever lose that fire, sad empty eyes are something that I never want to see._  "Don't tell Jim that I lied, he'd kill me." he joked walking back over to the bed and getting comfy, sat with pillows behind him for support against the headboard. He sank lower until he was satisfied with his half sitting half lying position. He would have offered a hug but he didn't want to go too far just yet, the scenario didn't require a hug anyway, he was guessing that it had happened a good while back for her to be able to talk about it.

 _Atleast it's a positive sign of sorts, she trusts me, or she wants to trust me._  Inwardly Leonard was questioning why after only 6 weeks he had this insane attraction to his Co worker and this unyielding urge to be there for her, and keep her from anything that could cause her pain, that empty look in her eyes when she was talking about someone she'd lost. Amelia. God he hated that look in her eyes. He made a promise to himself that he never wanted to see that again, and if he had too, he'd be there to bring back that little spark. The only other person he felt this strongly about protecting over emotional turmoil and grief was Jim.  _Damn it woman stop making me care about you._  "Alright I'm ready to cry, hit me with it."

Alex looked up at The man lied next to her on her bed wondering if he knew he was frowning. He seemed deep in thought about something but she wasn't quite sure what. Was that a look of concern or worry, she wasn't having that. She shuffled down the bed Un tying her hair from the bun as she went, dragging a pillow and putting it on Leonards lap she rested her head on it feeling the hard thigh underneath. "Stop looking so worried, I'm fine." and with that, and maybe the fact she'd subconsciously wrapped her arms around his thigh in a sort of hug, she felt him relax.  _God how embarrassing, she'd done that without thinking. Atleast it seems to have helped him relax, he'd definitely seemed like he was overthinking something. Ah well I fixed it, go me._

As the film started to play she was completely oblivious to the small smile and tender look she was receiving through warm hazel and green eyes.

* * *

I'm not sorry for the fluff.


	6. Aren't you a ray of sunshine

Hope you're all enjoying the story so far! feedback helps me know what you like and don't like and how you react to the characters, if any of them are acting ooc or something (hopefully not I've tried to keep them just like they are in the movies) :')

* * *

"Captain, we are receiving new orders from starfleet, forwarding them to you now." Nyota did a few taps on her station then turned her head slightly to confirm that they had indeed sent.

Jim smiled up at her from the captain's chair, hoping hard that their new orders had nothing to do with this blasted nebula they had been observing and collecting data on for the past month. Of course it was beautiful but he craved something he could physically get involved in, wanted to feel the crunch of foliage and dirt beneath his feet, he wanted to explore a planet. It had been so long since their last orders to explore and document a new foreign planet the entire crew was growing antsy and fidgety, constantly tense and without a doubt bored. There was only so much you could observe from a nebula and only so much data you could collect.

Though Spock and his science team were no doubt interested in their findings, he knew that his stioc first officer was growing impatient, not that he'd admit to such an illogical and human emotion but Jim could see it as clear as day, that and he suspected there may be something else on the vulcans mind. They were more or less back to normal since there little argument two days ago, but things somehow seemed more tense between them. Jim couldn't quite put his finger on it either, all he knew was as he smiled across to Nyota and offered her an encouraging wink he could feel the man's eyes boring holes into the back of his head. He'd have to have a word with him about his behavior after this mission. Speaking of the mission, he looked down at the data padd on his lap and a huge grin formed as he read (more or less) exactly what he had wanted to see. As he read the coordinates from there current location his grin somehow widened as he giddily pulled himself out of the captains chair and strolled over to Sulu at the helm.

"Do you remember the coordinates of the planet we passed on our way here Sulu. The one our long distance scanners picked up?" Jim could hear the excitement in his voice through the mature and even authoritative tone he was trying to maintain.

"Yes captain?" Sulu was looking up at him with hopeful but confused eyes as he grinned down at the man.

"lock in those coordinates lieutenant, we have a planet to explore. How long will it take us to get there from our current location, Spock?" By this time Jim had already made his way over to his handsome first officer and was grinning at him like a madman.  _Wait did I just think of Spock as handsome? Well, I guess he kinda is with his eyebrow raise and five o'clock shadow… wait what. Has Spock been forgetting to shave his usually perfectly smooth face? Something is definitely wrong._

"At warp two it will take us approximately 31.45 minutes to arrive in close enough proximity to the planet to determine whether it is habitable enough to send down a landing party." Spocks voice was flat.

"Great, Mr Spock I'm going to suggest you go down there with a landing party of your choice for the first few hours, to take samples and such, with a doctor of your choice."

"Those terms are agreeable captain, may I inquire as to what your plan is after the first few hours, if the planet is infact habitable enough to send down a landing party?" Spock raised a brow at the fact Jim was leaning against the side of his console casually with a smirk.

"Then after that your science team will beam back up with whichever doctor you chose and I'll beam down alongside the other doctor, you'll be staying on planet of course incase your expertise are needed, or you vulcan strength, but let's hope the latter isn't necessary."

"indeed."

When they arrived within scanning distance of the planet it was confirmed to Jims delight that the planet was in fact habitable he'd requested Bones and Dr Reid to report to the bridge. Spock had already filled him in on the planet's most important features such as the atmosphere and how it had a slightly higher oxygen percentage than that of earth, and how the planet looked to have evolved similarly to earth despite the small amount of land mass compared to that of its oceans. That and the planet was sporting two sun's and a single moon.

"I've already got a bad feeling about this." Bones grumbled to himself pacing around the bridge in his usual manner one arm folded over the other with his hand up against his mouth in deep thought.

"Aren't you a ray of sunshine." Alex sighed rolling her eyes at the older man earning her a frown.

"Alright Spock who are you taking down first?" Jim looked smug. If Spock were human he would have laughed at the way Dr McCoy and Dr Reid both raised a brow simultaneously at the captain's remark.

"I believe Dr Reid will be the most logical choice to start the mission."

"And why is that logical…" Bones grunted frowning in confusion.

"She has less experience dealing with the disastrous situations that seem to occur 58% of the time that the captain is on a planet, therefore it would be unwise for her to accompany myself and the captain on her first away mission." Spock watched as Leonard huffed and crossed both his arms.

"Hey!" Jim mocked being offended.

"I guess that privilege goes to me."

"cmon Bones, it'll be fun!" Jim chimed grin still firmly in place as he fidgeted where he was stood.

"Shut up, I've heard that too many times before huge mishaps."

"Dr Reid I will meet you at the transporter room in approximately 1 hour. I believe this will be a sufficient amount of time for you to prepare yourself and any equipment." Spock watched as Dr Reid and Dr McCoy both glanced at eachother as if communicating without speaking.

"She'll be ready in half an hour, c'mon witch, light a fire under that ass and move it." Bones waved her towards the turbo lift hastily. "Don't get comfortable I'm coming back." An accusing finger was pointed at Jim as the turbo lift doors closed.

"Good luck Dr Reid, I hope you're ready for a lecture." Jim said under his breath, earning him a snigger from his helmsman. He knew Bones was about to give her some pep talk and a detailed lecture on what to do in certain situations and why she should always take down certain devices when beaming down to a new planet. He was probably spouting stories aswell, mostly about Jim being the reason he carried certain things on his person now, and especially on away missions.

 _Good ol' Bones, always wanting everyone safe and sound, and kicking my ass when I get myself into trouble._  He had a feeling that Dr Reid was probably going to revert back to her starting uniform for this mission aswell, after all, dresses weren't exactly ideal for planet exploration in most circumstances. _No matter how good they look, Bones has been looking pretty distracted lately, I can understand why, probably means she's only just started wearing the dress uniform recently. Poor bastard._

After half an hour Spock and his team were all ready in the transporter room, Dr Reid had indeed reverted to her original starfleet regulation shirt and trousers combo as had the other female member of the away team, a science officer, it looked like her style of dressing was catching on.  _It would have been stupid to wear a dress anyway._  Dr Reid thought, as she checked for the third time whether she had everything, Bones was stood next to the transporter grumbling to himself because he'd ran out of things warn her about. All in all there was 6 members of the away team, Herself, the Commander, two additional science officers and two security officers clad in red shirts with a phaser each, she supposed they were meant to be the muscle if things got difficult.

She decided to message Nyota while she waited for everyone else to be ready, pulling out her comm she moved quickly as she saw the officers in front of their consoles start to pick up the pace as they checked the data with each other. Herself and the fierce goddess that was Nyota Uhura had became quite close after finally meeting properly and bonded over their love of music and it's many different styles of genres and how it can move people in different ways, bringing laughter and joy and in some cases bring them to tears. She was a very sophisticated and lovely woman and Alex hoped they'd get to have more music nights together soon.

**First mission first time on a new planet… I'm actually terrified.**

**-ADR**

**You'll be fine, you got this, you have everyone up here on your side if things go bad. I promise.**

**-NU**

Alex closed her comm and looked around the room a little on edge. She felt uneasy, like her gut was trying to tell her something. Looking down at the small ceramic capsule around her neck she wrapped a hand around it before making sure it was under her shirt, rather than risk it being broken or lost swinging about around her neck. _Keep watch over us Amelia, I've got a bad feeling about this._  She watched as Spock gave the order to energise in 5 seconds. Her stomach churned, she completely missed the coordinates of where they were being beamed too and snapped her head around to find Leonard looking right back at her, and she knew he understood exactly what she was thinking as soon as they made eye contact. She managed to mouth the words 'bad feeling' before she could feel the pull of the transporter, watching him nod and point at his comm device in understanding before she was suddenly in the middle of a thick forest.

* * *

Spock pulled out his comm whilst surveying the area they were currently in with trained precision, listening out for any possible threats in their immediate vicinity. "Spock to the enterprise we have arrived safely at the intended destination we will be in contact in no less than two hours to be transported back aboard, should we collect any data of importance we will be in touch earlier."

"Good to hear Spock, good luck." Kirk's voice came from the comm before cutting out. Spock looked around the terrain with a suspicious gaze, he flipped open his tricolour as did the rest of the science team and Dr Reid.

The area that they'd beamed down to was thick forest, they were surrounded by trees and thick underbrush and foliage that crunched underneath their boots. Surrounded by a sea of green and brown bark of towering trees of varying species, the intense light from the twin sun's broke through the canopy of the trees at points creating intricate patterns of shadows. This gave most of the away team a false sense of security given the similarity to their home planet, but Dr Reid was still experiencing a sense of un ease and refused to let her guard down. Spock being the logical being he was was scanning the area whilst keeping a keen eye on their surroundings. After all this planet didn't resemble vulcan in any way, therfore he was un able to feel any false sense of security in his surroundings.

"I'm not gunna lie it's nice to be on a planet that's atleast a little bit familiar, don't think I've been around normal trees in God knows how long." The taller of the two security officers snorted out cockily, the tiniest amount of nervousness betrayed in his eyes. Spock raised a brow at the brown haired red shirt.

"Though this terain may seem familiar to your home planet officer Riley I would advise that you do not let your guard down." Spock deadpanned. Watching the two security officers with hawk eyes and keeping note on the positions of all the additional science officers that were currently taking soil and other plant samples.

"The Commander is right, don't drop your guard, these are not normal trees, and I'm guessing this planet has got a couple of other things up its sleeve." Alex stroked her hand down the bark of a nearby tree as she continued to run scans with her tricorder.

"Please explain doctor." Spock stepped forward so he was beside the red headed woman looking down at her readings.

"It seems as if these trees posses the ability to grow at an extremely excelerated rate yet stop growing at this excelerated speed when they reach their prime, but i don't know if any of you have noticed none of these trees around us are past their prime. If I was being completely honest I'd say that these trees have all grown in less than a month possibly even quicker." Alex was frowning down at her tricorder. "if I could see one that'd been cut down I could explain why."

"are you suggesting to determine the trees age from the annual growth rings of the tree doctor?"

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting Mr Spock but from these reading and the rate of growth. I don't think there'll be any..." Alex trailed off a clear tone of worry evident in her voice.

"Fascinating." Spock quirked a brow at the tricorder readings and then looked back over at the doctor sending her findings to the science and medical department on the ship.  _She posseses more knowledge than I had previously thought._ Spock was pulled from his thoughts as his comm buzzed. He flipped it open to hear Jim speaking in a rather frustrated manner.

"Spock got some bad news, we've had a malfunction with the transporter and it won't be back to working order for atleast two hours but we're working on getting it up and running as soon as possible."

"Understood captain, we will continue taking the necessary samples until the transporter has been fixed."

"Another thing Spock, our readings are suggesting that the majority of life on this planet has evolved in water, though you aren't in a region near the sea there is a river to your West sending the coordinates to you now. Check it out, but be careful. There's also a rather odd expanse of grass land to your south east, it's a perfect circle approximately 100 yards wide, I'd take a look at that after you've took samples and readings from the river area. Might be nothing but it's always better to investigate." Spock could sense the worry in the captain's voice, though it wasn't really noticeable to anyone else, people close to Jim would be able to hear it.

"Understood captain, we will head towards the river now and keep you updated with any significant findings. Current findings have been forwarded to your padd from Dr Reid."

"Alright Spock, I'll contact you when the transporter is fixed. Might have to delay beaming down a second team for a while after you've all beamed back up, want to make sure the transporter isn't going to malfunction again."

"Understood captain, Spock out."

As they started on the journey to the river side from the coordinates sent they could hear the forest coming to life around them a little bit more with every passing minute, a multitude of birds were singing to eachother above their heads chirping happily, they spotted small range of forest life including what appeared to be a doe of sorts, though similar to that of the ones on earth it seemed to possess slightly longer ears than that of a terran dear and a hardened head, though it's purpose wasn't made aparent yet Spock had suggested it had evolved this way due to the predators it faced.

As they drew nearer to the river side the gut feeling something bad was going to happen was growing stronger in Alex and she repeatedly checked behind them, she refused to be caught off guard by anything. The sun was blazing as they finally crunched their way out of the foliage at the forests edge now looking out onto a vast expanse of rushing water glistening in the sunlight. The river side was only about five meters wide from the edge of the forest before it dipped into the water, a small but beautiful area of grass land littered with what appeared to be daisies and a type of dandelion. The seeds, that on earth, would be white and float around on the breeze were instead and red colour, and looked glorious flying around in the sun against the green blue rush of water in the background. It was oddly calming, despite the furious flowing water constantly reminding them of its unseen dangers with its aggressive splashing.

She kneeled down plucking a dandelion to take as a sample and putting it carefully in clear plastic container. Plucking another one she put it in clear plastic bag and sealed it up. She wanted to keep one if possible, but shed do tests on the other to make sure there were no dangers to be found and that they wouldn't cause any severe allergic reactions in the crew. Getting up she stepped over to the waters edge and looked down, she could see the vast amount of aquatic life down in the depths of the river which would have been odd if this planet wasn't predominantly full of water, even more so than on earth. She pulled out her tricorder scanning the water, not only was there an abundance of different life forms down there, there was also something rather big, multiple big somethings heading to the surface. She backed up cautiously waving to the others silently. Showing the female science officers that had appeared besides her the readings.

"I've never seen so much activity in a body of water of this size before." The woman commented before yelping as the water near the side of the river they were on started thrashing and a huge fish tail was spotted for a split second thrashing above the surface before dissappearing.

"That had too many characteristics similar to a shark for my liking..." Dr Reid turned to Spock with a grimace. _Why has this planet evolved this way? First the trees growing at an impossible speed and now large predators situated in a river, why. Why are they so far in land. Why do the trees need to grow so fast?_

The question still chanted in the back of her head as two heads popped up from the river side and jet black eyes blinked at them. These weren't fish heads either. There skin may have had a blue tint to it but they definitely weren't fish, they were humanoid for the most part. Large black eyes, and slick skin with no hair and two fins on either side of their heads where a normal humans ears should be. They were watching them very very closely, hissing quietly if any of them moved. Maybe that's how they were communicating with eachother. They couldn't learn anything from just seeing the top half of their faces though so Spock took a cautious step forward, then another and another until he was only a foot away from the edge of the water.

"Commander Spock be careful I've got a bad feeling about this." Alex whispered as she stepped towards the vulcan slowly, making sure to be far enough away from the water but close enough to grab Spock if she needed too.

"Gut feelings are illogical Doctor, we are here to discover new life on this planet therfore we must take risks. However the creatures do not appear hostile." Spock kneeled down so he was almost on the same level as the creature. Alexs stomache lurched.

"Yea have you ever thought that's exactly what they want you to think, they've never seen anything like us before even a predator would be cautios at first and assess the strengths and weaknesses of its prey." she hadn't meant to hiss at spock but in all honesty he was being stupidly reckless for a logical being. Before Spock could respond ensign Riley spoke over him.

"Awe but they look cute." ensign Riley stepped forward and knelt down sticking a hand out to touch one of them before a claw like hand came up at lighting speed and swiped at him, missing by an inch as he fell back on his ass, breathing heavily. The creature violently hissed and spread out its fins on its head as if in warning. A fin atop it's head had also popped up to make itself seem more threatening, giving it what appeared to be a mohawk of bright red.

"You fucking idiot get away from the edge, you're meant to be the security details on this mission keeping us safe not getting yourself killed!" Dr Reid shouted as the red shirt scurried back to where the rest of the group stood in panic. Spock look between the terrified ensign and Dr Reid with a slight frown, before turning back around to take a photo of the two creatures to document them. The creatures calmed down but didn't move from there pot on the edge of the water and if she wasn't seeing things one was ever so slowly getting closer to the Commander. _I'm keeping my eye on you._

Turning on her heels she could see ensign Riley now stood up but still looking really shaken up.  _Poor bastard, it was brave but incredibly stupid._  Without a second thought she waved him over, to which he begrudgingly complied, looking at the ground the entire time as if she was going to scold him again. Which FYI she wasn't, she hadn't meant to snap but idiotic people got on her nerves, even more so when they were putting themselves in danger. As he came and stood beside her she gave him a small smile and saw his features soften slightly. He wasn't a bad looking guy, he had a boyish look about him, mousy brown hair and thick but shapley brows, and of course the long lashes that no man deserved or needed. The rest of the team were at the forests edge taking samples staying well away from the water.

"You like music right Ensign?" She questioned innocently. Ensign Riley nodded before speaking.

"Yea but it doesn't really include any of the modern stuff if I'm honest, like older stuff myself, kinda like some of the stuff you have playing in the med bay now." He shrugged trying to seem disinterested.

"Alright then mister I'll make you a deal, if you're favourite song is one that I haven't heard of I'll include it in the med bay playlist." The guy was visibly relaxing, still on guard but not scared of being scolded by her anymore which was a good sign.

"You're serious?" The man seemed some what bewildered at the proposition. Then frowned at her suspiciously. "What's the catch?"

"God your so un trusting." she laughed before folding her arms and rolling her eyes jokingly. "There is no catch, take it or leave it, you have nothing to lose here really don't see why you wouldn't atleast test your luck."

"It's called flightless bird, well actually it kinda has two names, flightless bird or American mouth. It's by iron and wine." He watched as her face stayed blank. "Haha! You have no idea what it is, I'm holding you to that you know, to be honest it's a pretty relaxing slow song so it'd be nice to have it playing in the sick bay." He folded his arms with a smirk at his triumph.

"Damn it yea you win, I have no idea what that song is, it isn't super cheesy or anything right?" Alex visibly cringed at the thought of a disgustingly cheesy song about true love playing in the med bay that wasn't by Bon Jovi, because atleast they owned how cheesy their songs were. "Didn't have you down for the slow relaxing type songs, thought you'd be more into punk or pop to be honest, this should be interesting." She snorted as the man next to her mocked being offended.

"My names Jake by the way, I wasn't expecting you to be so... Well not stuck up, it's like talking to one of the guys. Either that or your far to used to hanging around Dr McCoy already, nurse chapel seems to be the only other woman I've met that's capable of a normal conversation"

"Nah Leonard isn't the one that made me 'not stuck up', I tried it once and it's just far too much effort. I'd hope that he was having a positive affect on other people though, one that doesn't involve sticking hypos in people's necks." She chuckled to herself rubbing at one of her eyes subconsciously. "Maybe it's his 'tell it how it is' attitude that gets people to realise they have a pole up their ass, hey maybe that's why he's always arguing with Spock..." she trailed off into a whisper eyes looking past the man she was talking to unfocused and in deep thought. She snapped out of it when she realised the man next to her was going red trying to contain his laughter. "What?"

"You're brave, I bet the Commander has heard every single word you've just said. And hmmm you're on first name basis with the doc, interesting." The red shirt wiggled his eyebrows at her playfully, laughing quietly when she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Myself and Dr McCoy have a strictly professional relationship, I just simply don't call him by his title when we're off duty that's all. And Mr Spock I wasn't trying to insinuate that you're stuck up it was meant more as banter, which right now is illogical so I'm gunna shut up." Alex frowned squeezing the bridge of her nose between her thumb and finger in frustration.  _Great way to start, insult your commanding officer by saying he has a pole up his ass. Nice. Smooth. Really Alex keep going you're on fire._ she inwardly scolded herself hoping Spock hadn't heard, and that if he had he wouldn't take offence to it.

"Do you always go overly formal when you're embarrassed or lying or is this a one time thing?" Jake chuckled at the flustered woman slightly red from realising she'd just insulted Commander Spock.

"I'm not lying, and even of something was going on with any crew members, you don't have the friendship clearance to access that information." She crossed her arms and raised her brows at the Red shirt as if challenging him.

"May I advise you not to indulge the ensign any further on the topic doctor it will give him an unfair advantage." Spock spoke without looking away from the creatures that were still hovering on the surface.

"An un fair advantage with what?"

"There is currently a pool, that a wide majority of the crew have gambled credits on, on when you and Doctor McCoy will engage in coitous." Spock spoke steadily, Un phased by the sudden burst of melodic laughter from the red haired woman behind him. _I was not aware that I was entertaining enough to warrant such a rigorous response._

"Oh my god this is gold, I'm totally gunna find a way to bet on it myself. I'm telling you now all your current bets are wrong. And Mr Spock you do realise when Leonard finds out about this he's gunna hypo the captain into next week?" She was still giggling to herself about the entire cenario.

"God damn it, why did you have to tell her Commander?" Jake whined to himself.

"There was no rules against not telling either person that they were the subject of a bet." Spock found it rather amusing that the doctor immediately knew it was Jims idea to start the pool in the first place. And the thought of Dr McCoy hypoing him as payback was also quite amusing, earning a small upturn of the lips from Spock.

"Yea but now she's gunna wait even longer purely out of spite."

"Please, who says anything is ever going to happen anyway, there plenty of good looking guys on this ship... But you're definitely right I'm gunna wait longer out of spite." She hummed to herself earning a frustrated grumble from the mousy haired man next to her. This mission was suprisingly going quite well despite her initial dread. She'd also started the makings of another friendship with a crew member she probably wouldn't have ever met if she didn't go on the mission. She glanced up at the brown haired man next to her taking note of his features and committing them to memory, the boyish features with a sharp jaw and determined frown, which suddenly turned into shock. She saw a flicker of fear in the pale blue eyes.

Time seemed to slow down as a hiss reached her ears, drawn out and deadly, her stomache knotted as she turned, the air felt thin as she gasped, chest feeling tight and heart pounding. Commander Spock had turned to face them at some point in their conversation and couldn't see the agape mouth behind him, the creature was raising itself up on the edge of the river bank it's jaw extended and stretched from its head in a terrifying way like that of a deep sea creature on earth. Presenting extra rows of razor sharp teeth and a black hole of a mouth. It was hovering over his crouched form and she could count the seconds that passed before one droplet of water dropped down onto Spocks face after sliding down the slick blue skin. The vulcans eyes steeled.

Everything after that went by so fast that they were both left stunned for a number of seconds, the forest seemed to have went quiet, a hush settling over the nearby trees. All that could be heard was the violent retching of the additional security officer, the acidic smell of bile seemed to hang in the air.

* * *

"I don't like this, something feels wrong. I mean the data we have already screams danger and mystery." Bones paced around the deck behind the captain's chair where Jim was sat impatiently tapping his fingers on one of the arm rests.

The bridge was tense as it was, the atmosphere seemed to be thick with worry and Jim could only hope that the entire bridge crew wasn't having the same gut twisting feeling he was. Like any second something was about to go wrong, I mean the transporters malfunctioning had been one thing and had set off Jim's unease aswell as Bones, who's motherly instincts immediately told him it was a bad omen. Yea the data was odd the trees and those weird river creatures. Jim shivered at the thought of them. It didn't mean that anything bad was going to happen though, they got odd readings from planets all the damn time why did this time feel any different?  _Spock better not get himself injured or I'll kill him._

He fiddled with the comm system momentarily "Scotty how're those repairs coming along?" Jim didn't like feeling on edge especially when he was so helpless to help his crew.

"Should be done in about 45 minutes captain." The Scottish accent replied, the clanking sound of metal hitting metal could be heard occasionally in the background.

"Well hurry it up Scotty I've got a feeling we're gunna be needing them alot sooner than that." Jim tapped at the buttons on the arm of his chair hanging up on Scotty and waited as it dialed Spocks comm but it just kept ringing. His stomache twisted as the seconds passed, no answer.  _No Spock. Spock I swear to god._ He punched in the digits to Dr Reids comm device and waited for an answer as it rang, the aggression in his movements noticed by Bones who raised a brown in concern. By the third ring Jim was about ready to scream. Until a familiar voice greeted them. He could feel Bones's protective nature pouring out of him through the strained frown as the doctor pinched the bridge of his nose at the slightly shaken voice.

"Dr Reid here captain, we may be needing that transporter to be miraculously fixed soon cap we have officers with injuries and we've just lost someone..." Jims stomache lurched as he heard a familiar voice in the background.  _So maybe Spock isn't dead but we've lost an officer on what was meant to be a simple exploration mission. Things can never just work out can they. "I_  don't care if you're functioning at optimum capacity Spock you're still bleeding don't try telling me your fine!"

"Who've we lost doc, what happened? Is everyone else okay?"Jim let out a quiet chuckle, his voice was firm and authoritive and it's exactly what the bridge crew and aparently Dr Reid needed to hear as she coughed before replying in a much more stable tone. The bridge crew seemed to silently breathe a sigh of relief as some of the tension on the bridge dissipated. Especially after hearing Bones snort at spock being scolded.

"We've lost security officer Jake Riley, one of the river creatures tried to attack Commander Spock, he saved the Commander from being dragged under water as lunch by pushing him away but he got dragged down himself... I tried to make a grab for him but I was to late." Bones could hear the strain in her voice and leaned on the back of Jims chair sighing, frown gone and replaced with a much more sombre look as he shook his head at his best friend.  _Nobody needs this happening on their first mission. I just hope she can deal with it and doesn't blame herself._ Before Bones or Jim could say another word one of the ships monitors started beeping rapidly.

"A forest fire has broken out north of their current coordinates, with the oxygen percentage being higher on this planet this fire could be upon them within 5 minutes sir! They're currently in a coldisac surrounded by mountainous terain captain... There's nowhere to go..." Sulu gripped the side of his chair in worried frustration.

"Does someone wanna tell me why black smoke is bellowing into the sky or.." Dr Reid trailed off and a loud hissing noise was heard over the comm before a splash of water and an animalistic scream. Jim was almost out of his seat gripping the arms with white knuckles and sitting on the edge of his seat. He could feel himself starting to sweat.  _This isn't happening, this can't be happening!_ Jim was silently screaming to himself his heart almost stopping when he heard the next words out of the doctors mouth. "Forest fires... That's why the trees have accelerated growth, that's why the predators and majority of life on this planet resides in the water. First instinct to get away from fire is to run to water...WE HAVE TO GET AWAY FROM THE RIVER SIDE NOW OR WE'RE GOING TO BE FLATTENED BY A STAMPEED! The smart ones, we're would they go, it'd wipe out alot of wildlife but not all, this planet wouldn't still be here if all wildlife on land was irradicated everytime a fire broke out." Alexs voice was rushed mumbling to shouting to almost unrecognisable whispering before Spocks voice could be clearly heard over the comm, giving everyone on the bridge and on planet exactly what they needed. Hope.

"The circular area of grass land seems the most logical destination for survival in this particular part of the planet. Our original second destination." indistinct yelling could be heard in the background before Jim screamed down the comm seeing the readings on Sulus monitor getting closer to the landing party.

"Spock get the hell out of there NOW!" The hoarseness of his voice nearly matching that of the crazed Dr Reid as she put the puzzle pieces together in her head. He could feel the sweat on his forehead dripping now his knuckles long gone white as his grip on the chair somehow tightened.

"God damn it Spock Run!" Bones yelled, knowing Spock now had the hand held device.  _Get them the hell outta there you pointy eared bastard._


	7. Fear of death is what keeps us alive

Chapter 7, eyyyyy, not that I actually have many people following this story but hey I've got a headfull of ideas that are probably going to make this fan fiction 30+ chapters long so I'm going with it anyway.

Please review even if it's just a short one 

The song in this chapter is called 'flightless bird/American mouth' by iron and wine. It's a lovely song and I'd suggest if you can be arsed with a quick YouTube search to give it a listen when it's time.

* * *

Alex was breathing heavily as they all sprinted through the thick underbrush of the forest. The smell of ash and burning plant life thick in the air as the fire spread fast, gaining on them with every step they took, black ash delicately floating through the forest and into their lungs as they ran. She was purposely lagging behind the group so she could keep an eye on everyone, they weren't losing another person if she could help it. She could hear everyone's desperate gasps for air as they ran for their lives, everyone's but Spocks, who was leading the group and hadn't even broke a sweat.  _I'm definitely gunna have to ask him what his workout regime is._ inwardly laughing at herself remembering that he was vulcan and probably didn't need to do cardio to be able to run for long distances.  _Sometimes he seems so human._

She could feel her heart pounding in her ears much like the rapid footfalls engulfing her in a fierce unrelenting urge to protect. They'd been running for what seemed like a solid ten minutes and everyone's lungs were screaming for air.  _When I make it out of here everyone is gunna have to do mandatory cardio sessions to help with situations like this._ Though she was positive they could make it she was starting to feel the heat of the oncoming fire raging behind them. Pushing those doubts from her mind a deep frown settled on her face as she zoned in on Spock's sprinting form and forced herself to focus.

Only just noticing the doe that was now sprinting beside her, it regarded her with one big black eye momentarily. Ears flat back against its head it pushed on, ignoring the humans it now ran beside as it deemed them not a threat. Here humans wouldn't be seen as destructive as the embrace of flames, but the irony that on earth they caused so much destruction to their planet and the animals on it sat heavy in her stomache. To been seen as equal instead of a monster in a race for ones life as a human, should be a gratifying experience to any of the party members. Alex thought on the subject of life and death as she stared at the doe still in full sprint beside her. Such a graceful and majestic creature, so innocent, it didn't know it ran amongst the most destructive race, perhaps, in all of the universe. Time seemed to slow as green eyes blinked, a whirlpool of thoughts and feelings, confusion and determination equally swelling in her chest.  _We are not monsters anymore. We are wanderers._

An animalistic screech ripped through their ears, ripping the red head from her thoughts. Before she could fully focus it had all already happened, everything happened so fast. Another sprinting doe ripped through the underbrush from the parties left side, and in a flurry of motion wiped out the female science officer running ahead of the flustered doctor. She came crashing down hard, the momentum of the blow knocking her to the ground then into a nearby tree with a bone crunching thud.

"Man down!" Alex yelled to any of the party still in earshot. She came sliding to a stop, the lose plants on the forest floor caused her to slip clumsily, she didn't care, she scrambled back up quickly racing over to the wheezing woman. "Quickly tell me where it hurts." Her voice was hoarse and cracked as she spoke, throat still feeling ripped raw from the amount of running and ash she'd inhaled.

"Ribs, can't breathe properly." The raven haired woman gasped still in shock. They were running out of time.

"Broken ribs, alright this is gunna hurt but I'm going to get you fixed up when we get back to the ship okay? What's your name?" Dr Reid hoisted the woman up so that she was flush against her chest, tugging her body up yet again so she could wrap her legs around her waist and her arms around her neck. She didn't weigh much but it would still make things much more complicated.

"Greshal, Sarah Greshal." The woman croaked, hissing in pain, she knew this wasn't going to be a pleasant experience but it was definitely better than burning alive.

Securing her arms tight underneath the other woman's behind for support, Dr Reid sighed. "Hold on tight Sarah."

And they were off again not at a sprint more like a quick paced jog, but they were still headed in the right direction. It was taking its toll in Dr Reid very quickly though the extra weight was wearing her down faster than she'd anticipated. But was she hell going to leave an officer behind to burn alive. She was scared. But she couldn't be, not yet. She had to do her job. But it would help if she could see the party running ahead of them. There was loud cracking noises now as the flames got closer, Licking up the bark of nearby trees, leaves falling to the ground and crumpling to ash mid air. The air was thick with black ash. The ash she could see all around, it covered everything it flew into their mouths as they gasped for air, choking them. They were alone. Alex could see the orange light in her peripheral vision now. They weren't fast enough. The heat was too much but she had to keep going.

"We aren't going to make it." A panicked whisper in her ear spoke, the body she was carrying shaking. Gasping for air, trying hard to stay strong against the gaining heat, the blinding light of their demise.  _If I can see it in my peripheral vision the sight luitenent Greshal must be seeing right now is probably terrifying. S_ he ran harder, heart pounding in her chest, lungs screaming for air that she couldn't afford to give them. The adrenaline spike would either be enough to get them to safety or they'd be dead, she prayed that her lungs wouldn't give up on her now. Water streaming from her eyes she finally heard something that gave her hope. Though to others it would have probably sent them running for different reasons with their tails between their legs the voice calling them meant they were close, either that or Spock had came back for them.

But before she could get a clear view of Spock in the thick black haze of ash she felt a pull on her atoms, tugging her and her patient as yellow light swirled around them. Then there was a hot searing pain in her back and she heard the dark haired woman whimper into the crook of her neck, until the heat was suddenly replaced by cool air.

**They were back. They were alive. _We made it._**

On their ship, the room full of people and watchful eyes as she carried on heaving huge breaths into her starved lungs. She couldn't focus much but all she knew was that they were alive. Everything seemed to be a blur and out of focus as she strained her eyes to try and recognise the swarm of figures infront of her. She put the smaller female science officer down and placed a hand in the woman's shoulder still gasping for breath. She could just about make out the watery eyes and soft features along with the dishevelled black hair. She grinned, which did the job of reassuring the shook up woman who smiled back and proceeded to wrap her hand around Dr Reids waist without saying a word. Not noticing the hiss the flame headed woman made at the contact "I'm not the doctor here but I think we should both probably head to the med-"

"Before you go anywhere you should probably let me scan that rib of yours. Your hands also have some burn marks on them so just be careful not to hit them off anything for a while, we'll get them fixed up asap, sweetheart." Bones spoke tying to keep the sound of relief out of his voice that somehow most of them were back in one piece. He looked the red head up and down after he scanned the raven haired woman noticing how a large chunk of black strands were singed to about half their original length or less, she would probably have some burns on her scalp by the looks of it.  _Just how close to the flames were they._ He frowned, she hadn't spoke since she got back. She looked rigid, and her face was scarily blank. "Alex talk to me, are you still struggling to breathe?"

The only response he got was a blank stare in his general direction. Which also seemed to be looking past him. The woman was still breathing heavy coughing occasionally. Until she finally croaked out a response. "I'm fine.. I've just aparently had a migrane for a while now and I'm currently.. blind.. so I'm sorry if I'm not actually looking at you, other than that pretty sure I'm okay... you need to get her rib fixed though it hasn't punctured a lung has it?" Bones was close to growling at her disregard for her own health, hearing the raw gravel like voice coming from her mouth was wrong.  _Her throat must be in shreds and she's stood here telling me not to worry! And lets not forget she's fucking blind and has somehow been running carrying another person for atleast 5 minutes! With a migrane she aparently didn't realise she had! HOW?!_ Leonard felt rage bubbling in his gut mixed in with something else, fear. He was worried, really worried. Though seeing her in one piece eased that feeling slightly hearing her voice sound grating and dry, almost choked was wrong. He'd have to give her something to help heal and clean out her throat and mouth.

"Nurse Chapel would you mind escorting this young lady to med bay, broken rib, be gentle don't rush her." Leonards voice was flat as he glared at the woman who couldn't even see the anger in his face at the moment. As Nurse chapel ushered the science officer away quietly the room slowly grew quieter the majority of people filtering out apart from that of Spock, Jim, and Bones. Bones could see Jim frowning in concern over at where Dr Reid still stood perfectly still in the transporter. "Give me your hand." He softened his voice a tad, as she raised a shaky hand infront of her in the general direction of his voice. Noticing how glassy her eyes looked as he took the hand in his own gently leading her out of the transporter further into the room. "I swear you're some kind of super human being able to run carrying another person isn't an easy task, especially at the speed the fire was spreading." McCoy grumbled grasping her upper arm instead of her hand now as he guided her towards the doors. "You're going back to your quarters until you can atleast see again then of you feel up to it you can head back down to the med bay... sweet jesus woman why didn't you tell me you'd been burned!" he all but yelled causing the woman to wince in pain at the volume only just realising the intensity of the migrane she was suffering from.

"What's going on... Christ." Jim paced over to the pair after hearing Bones yelling followed shortly after by Spock. "How did you not feel this?" Jim grimaced as they all set a quick pace in the direction of med bay, well as quickly as they could go with a blind woman needing to be guided round corners.

"Why is everyone shouting? And I don't know I felt something before the transporter pulled me off the planet but then... I guess I just shut it out like I did the migrane, which I'm definitely feeling right now so I'm kinda glad I'm not feeling these burns. How bad are they?" her voice was low as they paced towards the med bay her eyes completely closed now as she let McCoy drag her around.

"Must be the adrenaline that's still going through your system. Otherwise you'd probably be passed out already." Bones practicaly growled, running her tricorder over her as their little group raced down the enterprise corridors. "And christ that's some headache you have there."

"Hey have you treated the scratch on Spock's arm it looked pretty deep." her voice was getting quieter and quieter each time she spoke which was worrying the hell out of Leonard. "And you didn't tell me how bad the burns are, cut the crap Leonard."

"I didn't tell you and I'm not going to tell you because you really don't want to know. And God damn it woman I'll get to Spock after we've sorted you out." Bones hissed at the snarky tone that was somehow managing to come from the woman that was close to falling apart any second.

"Oh they're bad." Jim mumbled earning a glare off his cmo. "But if I'm honest they could be worse you're in good hands."

"So second degree burns, nothing cold water, cream and a dermal regenerator can't handle. Where abouts is it we're talking lower back or?" She fumbled for something in her pockets for a while before sighing heavily "Leonard painkillers, I can't even see what I'd be injecting myself with... Please." Jim noticed the vulnerability in her voice as she spoke and the look Bones gave her because he knew she couldn't see him. His friend looked pained looking down at her, as if he was experiencing her discomfort himself. Something told Jim they'd gotten alot closer than he'd previously thought. He knew Bones was probably inwardly scolding himself for not being the one in her position and going down to the planet first despite it being completely out of his control. Leonard fumbled in his own pocket for a second before pulling out a hypo checking it and somehow gently injecting it into her neck whilst they were still moving. He'd have made a dig at bones about being gentle with his doctor and not the captain but it wasn't the time for it. He'd seen this look before on his best friends face, he often sparingly used it with Jim when he got himself severely injured or was extremely ill. No angry frown present, just a creased brow and worried eyes. Concern etched on his face as they finally made it through the med bay doors which wasn't packed per se, but was full of the members of the landing party who immediately looked horrified at Dr Reid being led through the doors with that blank Un focused look on her face.

Now Jim was here to make sure Spock actually got his arm seen too, and partly to make sure Bones got to med bay without having to deal with a passed out woman by himself. But he really was surprised at how concerned the landing party members seemed to be. They were all on the edge of their bio beds, he was pretty sure none of them had met her prior to the mission. It was oddly ironic that she couldn't see anything, the worried faces of the people she'd made sure to save and keep then safe as she herself needed to be treated with maybe one of the worsed injuries aquired out of them all. Apart from the one loss of course. Jim hoped she wouldn't blame herself for that.

He watched as Bones barked orders at the nurses ever so carefully peeling the ruined blue medical shirt up above the affected area, holding it there as he got her to lie on her stomache on the biobed. Shouting out for a nurse to take a look at Spocks arm and disinfect it before using the dermal regenerator. He'd never really properly seen his friend in his element before but then again he was always on the receiving end of the treatment so he'd swapped perspectives. Bones was careful and precise, and very very gentle. He noticed the raven haired science officer in the bed next to where be was stood and threw her a reassuring look. "She'll be fine, looks worse than it is and Dr McCoy loves to make things look dramatic."

They both continued to watch as bones treated Dr Reid, things had quietened down now and every now and then Jim would spare a glance over to where spock was being treated only to catch the vulcans gaze, which he held for too long before the science officer next to him finally spoke. He shivered when he eventually broke eye contact. Remembering all the strange thoughts he'd been having about Spock this morning before the mission and how worried he was about him when things went to shit. It was normal to be worried though, it was his crew. Atleast that's what Jim told himself.

"I've never seen Dr McCoy laughing whilst treating a patient." she spoke quietly watching as the doctor was slowly running the dermal regenerator over the small of the red heads back chuckling at something and turning to say something every now and again to the face that was turned towards him resting on her arms and away from everyone else.

"Well they do work together, they probably have alot of inside jokes, either that of Dr Reid is making digs at him while he works." Jim smiled at the sight infront of him, it wasn't like Bones to forget he was in a room full of people, but that's exactly what it looked like had happened. No frown, just a small grin and an occasional eye roll. It was nice. But he'd definitely be taking the piss outta Bones for this at a later date. As if on cue the all too happy doctor looked up to see his audience and his smile dropped into his usual frown as he pretend to intently focus on the task at hand. Jim definitely needed a catch up with Bones, he had so many questions for the man and had to talk to him about this weird Spock thing he had going on at the moment, and definitely hear what Bones had to say about the fight that theyd had over chess.

"Awe cmon Bones don't go back to being all grumpy let's see that smile." Jim chided from across the room catching the attention of Dr Reid as her head turned to face him from the bed, a huge grin on her face.  _Grumpy bastard. I wonder what they've been talking about for her to be in such a good mood._

"I suppose doctors are their own breed of person really, so of course they understand eachother well, but I've heard some rumours about erm Dr Reid and Dr McCoy..." Sarah Greshal, that was the science officer Jim was talking too, he'd met her before briefly and was shocked that he'd only just remembered her name as she spoke. He raised both his brows at the suggestion she made, hiding the mischief in his eyes well and under a intrigued but thoughtful tone.

"Oh really, like what? I can assure you nothing is going on between them."

"Oh no you don't understand sir I don't think it'd be a bad thing if there was, it's just... This rumour, the person who's spreading it, she seems really crazy. I'm not sure if it's true or not it probably isn't but she's been saying that Dr Reid has been trying to take advantage of Dr McCoy through a breast examination and raving on about how 'the new doctor thinks she can seduce anyone she wants'. Aparently she over heard some things said during the examination because she eavesdropped and she's been saying how she's going to put in a formal complaint." The pale woman sat on the edge of her bio bed seemed flustered, like she didn't want to believe the story but didn't want to ignore the possibility of it being true without evidence. "I'm not going to lie she saved my life, and even seeing them now I can't see how she would or needs to take advantage of anyone really..."

Jim had subconsciously leaned in closer till he was leaning casually against the woman's bed hand tentatively over his mouth with the other arm crossed over his chest, a deep frown was starting to form. "So this crazy woman would be putting in a complaint on Dr McCoy's behalf then, but why? Bones doesn't know any other women that well apart from about three people on this ship, so this has to be stemming out of jealousy." His voice was low so nobody would overhear them.

"That's what I was thinking, it's kind of creepy that she eves dropped in on a conversation they were having though when she found out they were in a curtained off area, she's like a stalker. Even if it was a breast examination I'm pretty sure as a doctor if there was a medical issue with any of their staff they'd both offer to look into a problem and give a second opinion." She slowed down as she realised the more obvious and logical explanation was likely true, sighing slightly. Jim assumed because she had believed the stupid rumour to be possible until now.

"Trust me, they may flirt, but nobody is getting taken advantage of and nothing is happening between them, I'm more concerned how the person that spread the rumour knows what type of examination was going on. If she's looked in a curtained off area when she's been told by another member of the medical team to not interrupt and too wait, that's a massive breach of privacy and there will be consequences. Thanks for bringing this to my attention Greshal, any idea what this woman's name is?"

"She's from engineering, her name is Sasha Gonzalez."

* * *

Jim had decided to meet bones for a couple of drinks in the mess hall that night rather than either of their quarters, because of the little remembrance get together one of the other security officers had arranged for their lost friend, Jim couldn't not go. He may not have knew the man but he would show his respect much like the rest of the officers in attendance, the room was heaving and someone had put on a playlist of what was Officer Rileys favourite songs, most were soothing and laid back which went well with the gentle buzz in the room. Thank God nobody was required to make any speeches. Bones had wanted Dr Reid to stay in the med bay, telling her it was to take care of the patients as they may be suffering from a traumatic experience and he needed someone he knew could take care of them.

But Jim knew it also had something to do with Bones's need to keep people safe, if he knew where she was she was safe. She was near any medical equipment she might need and Jim was pretty sure Bones had mentioned something about 'guy time' or something along those lines, because the red head had raised her brows and then gave a knowing nod in Jims direction. Obviously he'd grinned back charmingly, he couldn't help it, she was gorgeous. But it had earned him a not so discreet glare from Bones. It seemed after the near death experience of the new doctor Bones was having even stronger motherly urges than usual, Jim knew the discreet special treatment and over protective nature wasn't just because of the hellish mission, though Bones would deny it of he pointed it out. He'd bet his life on the fact his best friend had finally let someone in, someone of the opposite gender that is, and had only just realised how he actually felt. Either that or how strongly he felt. The look on Bones's face as he'd paced down the enterprise corridors with wide and wild eyes with a vice like grip on Alexs arm told him more than enough. Like a starved man who'd finally found something good in this cruel world and was outright refusing to let it go.

"So kid, what's on your mind, you said you wanted to talk?" Bones leaned back in his chair placing an empty bourbon glass on their little corner booth table, the lights were pretty low but Jim could still see the concern as the dim light reflected off the rigid jaw of the man infront of him, rigid and fuzzy Jim noted that Bones had forgot to shave. _Maybe it's best not to worry about this to much right now, we've all had a hell of a day, and Bones looks tired. I'm sure it's nothing, and even if it is something I can always talk to Bones about it another time, I'll try figure it out myself for now._

"You can't call me kid anymore when you're clearly pinning after someone who's younger than me bonessss." Jim whined, dragging out the man's nickname earning him an eye roll. He grinned at the man across from him earlier to ear, if he wasn't going to talk about his Spock situation with Bones he was atleast going to get some details out of the other man about how things were going with the new doctor.

"She's like a year younger than you, and is this why you wanted to talk? You want to pick my brains, God damn it I should have known." Bones grumbled face palming as Jim laughed at him.

"Yea of course it is, well that and some other things but they can wait. So have you-"

"No we have not, why did I know you were going to start by asking that question." Bones growled a hard set frown on his face before sighing, trying to hide the chuckle that followed, Jim was so damn predictable sometimes.

"Well I'm your best friend, I wanna know when your getting more ass than me, not that I'd want to know details or anything because let's be honest, you being part of the story would just ruin the fun for me." Bones snorted.

"If that's the case you should start learning to knock on doors." Leonard folded both arms infront of him raising both brows at his friend mockingly.

"Whoa hold up how fast am I gunna have to learn because that's not gunna be an immediate thing, and I thought you were meant to be taking anything like this slow?" Jim looked genuinely concerned before a smirk urged at his lips as Bones looked away from him for a split second before looking back with a slightly tighter jaw than usual.

"Well yea that's the plan, that's also been agreed in person aswell-"

"She testing you isn't she." Jim flashed a cocky smirk cutting Bones off as his friend leaned forward as if in pain.  _Teasing is probably a better word for it but Bones knows exactly what I'm talking about._

"You have no idea, but I feel like this is just the beginning. The bad things is i think atleast half of the time it's un intentional, she really needs to learn to control her hormones." He finished off with a whisper mostly for himself but Jim heard it and started laughing quietly to himself. This was something he could get used to, torturing and teasing Bones about how he was dealing with a woman. It had always been the other way round before. Bones always giving advice that he knew Jim wouldn't follow. He hadn't originally expected Bones to be open to even discussing it all with him but it seemed the red head had loosened his tongue and relaxed him a bit more than usual. She was definitely good for him in that respect.

"I've found it all pretty funny so far, she's not the only one who needs to control herself Bones." his smirk grew wider as he saw the confused frown of a frustrated man sat across from him. _Haven't been blue balled in years ey Bones, welcome back to the dating scene. Plenty more pent up frustration to go round._

"I'll have you know Jimbo that I haven't been the one doing the teasing, and I won't because of the simple fact I don't want to rush into anything, I've already told you Alex and I talked about this kid." Bones looked confused at what Jim was trying to say growing frustrated as the younger man started laughing harder but kept himself quiet by holding a hand to his mouth.

"No you haven't Bones but I'll give you an example of why you need to reign in the controls atleast when you're out of med bay. The first time you were both on the bridge even Spock noticed how fidgety you were and I saw you looking at her like you wanted to eat her, Bones. You literally had this subdued hungry look in your eyes." Jim stared as his friends face changed slightly from blank to understanding. "She knows you're looking at her like that and she knows you won't retaliate to the teasing that's exactly why she's doing it, well atleast until you snap. Because you'll snap eventually Bones, but for the time being you flirting but not taking action to her teasing is what's stopping you both from locking yourself in your office for hours."

"God I'm getting old if you had to explain that to me, I see what's going on now, not sure if I like it." Bones stroked the stubble on his jaw absentmindedly as he thought about the situation.  _I don't think I'm gunna last very long if this teasing continues, If I tell her to stop she'll think I'm not interested in that or worse think I'm not interested in getting to know her at all. I could retaliate and keep the situation under control I do have strength on my side, but that seems to forceful. Fuck it I'll just go along with it for now, I have a tendency to accidentally tease her anyway._

"Listen Bones seriously don't overthink it, it's just the way you both flow with eachother at the moment, it's not a bad thing. Plus if you didn't like being her centre of attention you'd have told her to stop by now." Bones went to reply but was interrupted by a rather large red shirt who'd stood up on one of the tables waving a data padd around in the air.

**_"It's Dr Reid! She's singing his favourite song! Pedro is recording it from sick bay!"_ **

Jim and Bones both glanced at eachother in confusion for a second, they assumed pedro was the name of the other science officer that was on the mission. Before they knew it their was a huddle around the muscular man stood on the table as someone took the data padd from him and managed to project it onto the back wall of the mess hall everyone cheered giddily, most of them already drunk. The gentle strumming of a acoustic guitar quieted the room and the image on screen showed Dr Reid sat behind McCoys desk, she was oblivious that she was being filmed, Leonard was struggling to read the look on her face. The room was buzzing with quiet muttering until she started to sing. Jim had never heard anything like it, her voice was crystal clear and sharp but so soft, soothing almost, like a lullaby. He felt strangely comforted hearing it, he had no doubt she could sing a range of songs but this was definitely something that was going to stick in his memory for a while. Her voice sounded like it was doing considerably better than it had been earlier, when her throat had been dry, he could hear very slight straining every now and again, hopefully it wasn't permanent damage. But it was still beautiful, such a kind gesture. Voice _of an angel, Bones is one lucky bastard not only is she beautiful she can sing and has a sense of humour. Well plenty of good looking people on this ship have a sense of humour, Nyota has a sense of humour, so does Bones, and Spock, in his own way it's kinda cute actually when he tries to make a joke. Wait... This is bad._

 **I was a quick-wet boy**  
**Diving too deep for coins**  
**All of your street light eyes**  
**Wide on my plastic toys**  
**Then when the cops closed the fair**  
**I cut my long baby hair**  
**Stole me a dog-eared map**  
**And called for you everywhere**

 **Have I found you?**  
**Flightless bird, jealous, weeping**  
**Or lost you?**  
**American mouth**  
**Big pill looming**

 **Now I'm a fat house cat**  
**Nursing my sore blunt tongue**  
**Watching the warm poison rats**  
**Curl through the wide fence cracks**  
**Pissing on magazine photos**  
**Those fishing lures**  
**Thrown in the cold and clean**  
**Blood of Christ mountain stream**

 **Have I found you?**  
**Flightless bird, grounded, bleeding**  
**Or lost you?**  
**American mouth**  
**Big pill stuck going down**

The song was generaly slow and melodic picking up in the middle. However, despite it's slow nature it didn't seem sad, more nostalgic and thoughtful. Jim looked over at bones and if it was any other time he would have laughed. But all he could do was stare at his friend, Bones wasn't crying no, he was the opposite. He was leaned back in his chair in awe, a look of intrigue and an innocent curiosity plastered in his face. Mouth hanging slightly open with wide eyes, no frown in sight. He turned to look at Jim as the video feed ended with Nyota coming onto the screen and putting a hand on Alexs' shoulder offering a warm smile and a nod. Jim realised for the first time in all the time he'd know Bones, he was speechless. The southern bastard was genuinely speechless.

Jim was pulled out of the daze that had settled over his table by the sound of people crying. Sobs could be heard around the room, and he felt the pang of pain for the lost officer Jake Riley. Everyone on board had a purpose, and they all touched eachothers lives in some way or another. He didn't know the man personally, but if his friends knew this as his song, then he was sure the man would be appreciative himself if he could have only been there to hear it. Music after all, always had the ability to make people feel. Good or bad, music had power. And right now Jim knew his new doctor held the highest respect for the security officer she'd just met, just as he, and his friends now had for her.

"I hope she'll sing for me if I end up in an early grave." Bones looked down still visibly in shock, but the uncertainty in his voice was thick. Jim frowned at his friend. How could Bones think so little of himself, to sound unsure for a second was something Jim refused to tolerate. He would wipe that uncertainty out with vengeance. It had absolutely no place in his friend, Leonard McCoy was perhaps one of the best people he knew and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to reassure his best friend of that.

"Bones, she already holds you in the highest regard she respects you more than even me, because you've earned it...Of course she'd sing, but she won't have too any time soon." He watched as the shell shocked look on his friends face returned to its usual half frown but slightly more sombre. It was rare for Bones to have moments like that, genuinely show vulnerability that wasn't sarcastic or aggressive, almost as rare as Jim having those moments. But the moment had passed. Bones coughed and got up from his seat.

"You need anything? I'm heading back over to med bay see if they need anything, most of them can probably be working again by tomorrow." He cocked a brow at his captain who was still sat down frowning.

"No no Bones I'm fine, you okay?" he snapped his gaze up to meet his cmos.

"Course I'm fine kid, Mr sensitive but it'll take more than that to get a reaction outta me." He chuckled dryly eyes darting from Jim to the doors. "I do want to talk to you about that other shit you wanted to see me about though. Comm me when you need me kiddo."

"I will do Bones...will do." Jim trailed off as he watched his friend pace out of the room. He eventually wondered back to his quarters all the while mulling over death and remembrance. How quickly life could be snatched from us, snuffed out like a candle. It scared the shit out of him. But he knew, atleast in this instance, Spock was wrong and Bones was right. _Fear of death isn't illogical, fear of death is what keeps us alive_.

* * *

I actually checked this one for spelling mistakes, go me. Auto correct is a bitch I'm ao sorry if I've missed some bad mistakes in previous chapters.

 


	8. Sensitive things

Hahaha almost killed something writing this chapter, my phone spontaneously lost connection to the site when I'd wrote like 700 words. I literally cried.

* * *

Jim was laid awake in the darkness of his room trying to get some much needed sleep after the day they'd all had. He had a love hate relationship with silence, in some ways it was comforting and peaceful but in his nightmares it would haunt him, silence accompanied most of his worst memories. It wasn't particularly late or anything, infact it wasn't late at all it was just turning around 9 o'clock, but here he was mulling over the day in his mind in the ever unsettling quiet.

He couldn't get over just how serious Bones was about trying to form a relationship with a woman again, it kind of freaked him out a little bit. They barely knew her? Well they did kinda know her and he supposed Bones knew her best, hey atleast he'd given his cmo some pretty sound advice earlier on. What he was more worried about though was his sudden curiosity towards a certain first officer, how in the hell was he anything to do with Spock and Uhura breaking up? What did she see that Spock was so oblivious too or couldn't understand? Because surely if Spock couldn't understand something she was wrong, the vulcan was a genius. Unless it was about emotions and all that jazz... Maybe Nyota was jealous that they were such good friends? They were really close, spent alot of time together even off duty... But why would she be jealous of that. _Jeez it's not like Spock wants to bang me._

A shiver shot up his spine as soon as the thought hit him.  _Why did I just react like that, I mean it's not like the idea of Spock banging me is disgusting or anything. Wait, it should be disgusting. I shouldn't even be thinking about this what the hell!_ jim shot up in bed and snatched his data padd up from the bedside table. Laying back down he turned on his side frowning at himself, why wasn't he absolutely against the idea of sleeping with Spock? Well of course he'd been with guys before but rarely, and Spock was attractive, "For a vulcan." Jim caught himself thinking outloud.

_Alright Jim get it together and think about this logically before you start freaking out. Let's give this good old logic that Spock loves so much a try shall we? Do you find Spock attractive? Yes. Okay that's fine. Are you only just noticing this now? No. That's fine too there's no shame in admitting another guy is attractive. Are you attracted to him? Shit. I'm attracted to my first officer. How am I only just realising this now jesus Christ, when did I start preferring Spock over Uhura? This is probably just sexual frustration though, and I'm always around Spock so it's just kinda attached itself to him. That kinda makes sense, but this is ridiculous. For one vulcans don't do casual sex. Oh my god. I want to have sex with my first officer? And why does the thought of just having a fling with Spock feel worse? He'll probably go back to Uhura at some point anyway._

The pang of pain that thought gave him made Jim wince, he scowled at his data padd. Why would anyone in their right mind leave Spock? He was kind, fair, funny, yea he was also an ass but if you looked past that and at the vulcans high cheek bones and cocky eyebrow raise you could kinda forgive him for it. She didn't deserve him at all. Jim put the data padd down momentarily eyes going wide as realisation hit him. He was actually jealous of Nyota... He was jealous that she'd been with Spock. He frowned again picking up the data padd. He'd definitely have to talk to Bones about this some time soon or he'd explode, but for now he needed to distract himself from his new revelation.

He tapped the screen going to his messages, skimming through them to see if he'd missed anything or there was anything interesting going on on the ship. He noticed a message from Dr Reid almost immediately, it had been sent an hour ago aparently, clicking it he immediately noticed the video file below the text begging to be played.

**This is the final edit of the video blog example you wanted to see captain, I hope it's up to yours and Commander Spocks standards. I also aquired some footage from other members of the crew, including some of you from luitenent Sulu, he assured me you wouldn't mind. If needed it can be removed. I hope this atleast puts a smile on your face, we could all do with a laugh after today.**

**-ADR**

**###########**

* * *

Clicking play Jim noticed immediately where it was that was being filmed. The white wash walls and the spotless floor gave it away, along with the blinding white lights. The med bay of course, the camera panned around the room momentarily before snapping onto an up close pair of green eyes who looked curiosly into Jims soul. The scattering of freckles crystal clear up close in the bright lights of the med bay.

"How're you doing guys guess who's back." one eye winked at the screen. "I noticed you all asking for updates since I got requested to serve on the enterprise, old and new followers, especially you lot who follow star fleet and love any news you can get your hands on. Well I might have got permission from captain kirk to re start my video blogs. However, that's only with your help. Because what this is about now is showing you that life on a star ship isn't all doom and gloom and danger. You get all that from the news anyway why would you need to hear it from us, right? I'm here to give you the good bits, the gag reel, and all the things imbetween." The woman's smiling face filled the screen before the camera snapped back to the med bay to a rather disgruntled Bones scowling at a data padd as more were piled high around him on his desk. Jim couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him as Bones gradually sunk lower and lower in his chair before face planting his desk, arms above his head in the generic 'i don't know, or why do i bother' position.

"Maybe I lied a tiny bit about it not all being doom and gloom,because this happens alot." Alexs voice chimed through the recording before suddenly Bones had lifted his head up and was staring right at the camera, before she noticed properly he was already out of his seat heading towards her. "Oh no we've been spotted abort mission, I repeat abort mission. Maybe he doesn't know what we're doing so we can play it off as research or something- eeekk!" The camera shook as Dr Reid jumped out of her skin, Bones had latched onto her somehow from behind and as the camera got further and further away from the red heads face you could see a frowning head resting on the woman's shoulder as one arm stretched trying to make a grab for the camera. "Haha! You've got a couple of inches on me but aparently have tiny arms. Say cheese." To Jims suprise Bones paused in his pursuit for the camera and smiled as a shutter sound escaped the data padd, almost immediately returning to his struggle for the camera with his tongue stuck out in concentration. "Okay I'm kind of suspicious, why did you go along with it?"

"Because nobody is gunna believe it happened once I've destroyed your communicator." And with a grunt, Bones had whipped the comm out of her hand and was now walking away with it wearing the cheekiest shit eating grin Jim had ever seen as he held it high above his head so the smaller woman couldn't reach it at all. "Who's got tiny arms now, witch."

"Leonard I swear if you break that I'll kill you, and if you don't give me it back I'll climb you like a tree." from the height the camera was at you could see a frustrated Dr Reid crossing her arms in the background before Bones turned to the camera and cocked one eyebrow up with a sly smirk. "Not in that way." Dr Reid finished, knowing without seeing his face the taller man had taken it the wrong way.

"Sorry but there's only one way you can climb someone like a tree, here have it back, but I better not see that posted anywhere, witch." Bones was strolling away from the camera now as it was back in Dr Reids hands.

"Little does he know that's exactly what this is for."

"What was that?" Bones turned on his heels heading right back towards the woman with the usual frown in place. Not that members of the public would be able to tell but it was more of a playful frown, not the harsh pissed off frown that he usually wore with Jim.

"Shit."

The camera cut to black as Bones closed in, a brief silence was then filled by the clicking sound of metal on metal, Jim knew those sounds well. Just as he'd guessed as the camera came into focus from the darkness to reveal the red haired doctor with her hair in a loose pony tail infront of the squat rack. The gym seemed relatively empty, a couple of people on the treadmills in the background could be heard as trainers slapped against rubber at a steady pace. Jim was starting to wonder if this was meant to actually be on here as he watched her position herself under the bar so it was resting flat across her shoulders, he couldn't see the amount of weight on the bar it cut off just after the first first set of plates which looked like 20s, and considering the bar itself weighed 20 that was already impressive. The most he saw other women on the ship squatting was 10s on either side and that was at a push, alot of then just used the bar.

Her face strained as she stood up and took a few steps back, Jim could see the muscles in her shoulders tense as she took a deep breath in before heading down for the first squat. _Good God she's not just squatting 60kg she's going for 90!_ jim held his breath as she pushed up from the first, not noticing the pair that had just walked in behind her until she was trying to come up from her second rep, she was stuck and her legs were going to give up with no spotter.

"Shit,shit, shit, shit." as she slowly ebbed further down with the weight on her shoulders crushing her towards the floor she squeeled. That was when Jim recognised the two men that had just walked in as they came sprinting up to help, both grabbing a side of bar and lifting trying to get it re racked. Pavel chekov and Hikaru Sulu. Both looking rather terrified at the amount of weight on the bar as they strained to pull it up. "Boys that's not- How you help with-Let go!" Alex yelped as the bar slipped off her shoulders landing with a loud thud on the floor. To which she then lost her footing and slipped landing straight on her backside, but now despite struggling for air she was laughing.

"Are you okay Doctor?" Sulu asked crouching down slightly as Pavel leaned forward hands on his thighs like he'd just ran a marathon. Sulu looked genuinely concerned at first before he started laughing aswell along with chekov who was wiping his head with the back of his hand. "Okay so I realise now that isn't how you traditionaly save someone from a squat." his face was contorted into a exasperated grin as he held out a hand for the doctor to help her up, she took it, body still shaking from the laughter that raked through her.

"I just don't think either of you wanted to be caught on camera thrusting."

"Vat you're filming this?" Chekov panted a small frown forming in confusion underneath the blonde curls.

"No kidding you're filming this? Alright take 2." Before anyone could say anything Sulu had sprinted to the gym entrance and left leaving a strange silence with Alex and Pavel sharing a confused look before he came bursting back through the doors pretending to ignore them both before dramatically throwing his head towards the camera and putting his hands over his mouth in shock, it was possibly the worst acting Jim had ever seen but he was already laughing. Holding his stomach as Hikaru sprinted towards the pair stood on either side of the abandoned bar and dramatically thrust towards the camera, flinging his head back whilst he did it. Jim could hear alot of the gym laughing but what was more funny was the way Dr Reid was doubled over in stitches whilst chekov just had his hand over his eyes trying not to smile, and failing, clearly embarrassed. Sulu stayed in character offering a final wink and finger guns at the camera before it cut to black. The last sentence from Sulu being "Please tell me you weren't actually filming that."

Jim was grinning ear to ear already and the video was only half way through. He admitted he had been skeptical about the idea at first but he was starting to see very real benefits of things like this being allowed. It would definitely keep crew morale up that's for sure, and he had no doubt it would atleast show despite all the hard work that was required by every starfleet officer there was always unforgettable moments that the crew would most likely share together. What made him really smile though, was that now they had a way to look back on moments like that and share them with eachother. Not that he was saying all moments shared needed to be recorded but it was nice sometimes. Seeing his crew like this, it seemed so far that Dr Reid was probably alot more important than she thought she was. She was healing everyone's spirit without realising it.

Bones for instance. Hell he knew he liked her but it took more than that to make Bones smile as much as he had been lately. Now Bones doesn't frown as often as people think, always good to have a laugh with and definitely smiles a healthy amount. But on the job. He mostly remained very serious, Dr Reid had somehow managed to strip that all away within a month or so, so Bones was able to be a little more relaxed at work. Maybe it was the fact he had another Dr rather than lots of nurses helping him out, but somehow it seemed more than that. He'd let her play music through the sick bay for crying out loud. Bones was trying to be nice, without realising he was letting another doctor heal his lonely and sad soul. Jim cut that train of thought immediately, he knew Bones had the ability to be happy but he also knew his best friend had a heavily guarded sadness that Jim wasn't going to go into detail right now, or he'd want to punch Bones's ex wife in the face. And lets make one thing clear here, Jim never hit women. Hell he never hit anyone without reason but damn that woman deserved it. But he didn't want his best friend to go through that again. None of it.  _Relax, Bones said they were going slow._

the video came back in to what looked like one of the enterprises bedrooms and panned down from the shelves across the room to a space with slightly ruffled up sheets at the head of the double bed where a tone of pillows seemed to be stacked for a back rest but nobody was sat there. The words in quotation marks "I don't have much faith for this movie" showed up on the screen and the camera turned to reveal a movie being projected onto the wall and a man in blue uniform sat at the foot of the bed with his legs crossed, eating popcorn from a huge bowl. The camera got closer to reveal Bones eyes locked on the screen with intense focus as he slowly chewed on popcorn, immediately sticking a middle finger into the camera as soon as he noticed it's presence but without taking his eyes away from the movie playing. There was a small giggle before the camera cut to black again. Jim chuckled, Bones was so stubborn it was comical.

Then suddenly Jims face filled the screen, grin stretched wide as a heavy bass line blasted from the data padd he knew straight away by the funky bass line exactly what this video was.  _Sulu you bastard._  There was no maliciousness behind his thoughts for his helmsmen however, as he saw the man appear on screen beside him. Dramatically pretending to play a bass as they both over exaggerated in their singing of the classical song serenading whoever happened to be watching the video by mouthing along perfectly in time with the lyrics,  _play that funky music white boyyyy, play that funky music rightttt._ He hadn't noticed before as he and Sulu had done this down a relatively empty corridor but Nyota was walking in time behind them laughing at them her hand to her mouth as she tried to look at the ground.  _My crew definitely think im an idiot._ The music faded out as Sulu lunged towards the camera, Jim in stitches beside the man.

The video then cut to black again before the sound of sad music was playing and Bones was center screen looking mortified, if Jim was seeing right was that tears in his eyes? Threatening to drip down his face. He was obviously watching something really intently again, the bowl of popcorn was almost empty and he looked broken. As broken as a man can be at a movie anyway. Bones put his head into his palm and squinted his eyes shut.

"Are you crying?"

"No I'm not but-" Bones snapped his head towards the screen once more as the music changed suddenly and muffled dialogue could be heard. "They're alive! My god they're alive how did they survive that?!" The bowl of popcorn threatened to spill as Bones swivelled around looking relieved until he saw the comm device. "What're you doing?"

"I'm just chatting to Nyota why?" came the oh so innocent voice of Dr Reid.

"You're meant to be watching this with me not watching me watch it, and now you've sacked me off for Nyota, I should tell Jim you're planning a mutiny. Your bedside manner is awful, your lucky I don't send you off for training."

"You wouldn't do either of those things.

"Watch me."

The camera then flipped around so it was Dr Reids beautiful face filling the screen with a rather mischievous smile on her face. "Hello everybody, this is the end of the video hope you enjoyed, oh and for the record Leonard McCoys middle name-" There was a loud thudding sound as the camera shook and then was promptly dropped on the floor. Revealing Bones full on fireman carrying the smaller woman who was smacking her hands on his back. How Bones had flung her over his shoulder that quickly he'd never know, but the display was hilarious "Put me downnnnn! I'm sorry I'm sorry, I'm not actually sorry but I promise not to say anything." Bones didn't listen and just turned towards the device on the floor and glared at it. The only thing visible of the fiery red head was her legs and arse now as bones turned even more, one arm gripping the back of her legs to keep her steady.

"Only if you stop recording me- touch my ass again and I'll fill you with so many hypos you'll need a wheelchair to get to work tomorrow."

"That was an accident, it's not my fault I'm at arse level right now."

"The hell it isn't." Bones walked out of view for a second before a loud thunk could be heard and a gasp as someone was winded.  _Bones you mad man throwing a woman on the bed like that then walking away._ jim heard a knock at the door and before answering made sure that the video was officially over.

He had to give the woman credit, it was all pretty funny and a good insight to what free time was usually like on the enterprise. If he was smiling after watching it so would his crew. But oh the rumours that are gunna spread about Bones, that was one thing Jim couldn't wait for. He was definitely using this as ammunition against Bones. Being completely honest they both worked well together, and though half of their conversations were obviously flirting, it wasn't cringey at all. Infact he could name a few people that would get the best laughs out of the video already, Sulu was definately first on the list.

"Come in." Jim finally answered the knock at the door, sitting up in his bed lazily.

* * *

 _Spock_  wondered down the halls of the enterprise after a well needed meditation session in his quarters mulling over Nyotas meaning and reasoning for their break up. He could still not see what she meant, if she was talking about the fact that the captain had elicted an emotional response within him when he had seen him in the de-contamination chamber she would be correct. But that was a moment of weakness.

Their relationship included all the factors needed to maintain a healthy and happy human relationship, they had intellectualy stimulating discussions and conversations, they had had 'date nights', and a satisfactory physical relationship aswell. Spock found his thoughts drifting to that of the shared dream experience he had recently had. A certain image burned into his mind of his alternate self very obviously sharing a vulcan kiss with the James Kirk of his timeline. It was fascinating that such a friendship could expand into a more loving relationship in an alternate timeline, it made Spock wonder if their were other timelines where himself and Jim had never met, then surely those timelines would be drastically different to that of their own. Earth would be destroyed, vulcan aswell no doubt. It was likely that Spock in an alternative timeline was truly the very last of his kind. Spock suppressed a shiver at the thought, turning his thoughts back to the other puzzle still playing on his mind. He pondered on the thought of having romantic relations with the captain for a second before cutting off that trail of thought immediately _. It is completely illogical to imagine having relations of that nature with a superior officer, much less the captain. Not that Jim is not aesthetically pleasing for a human male, but- fascinating, I seem to find Jims appearance pleasing... But illogical, whatever this is i will not let it control me, I am in control of my emotions._

Spock had found that he'd wondered all the way to the med bay, strangely the room was almost empty bar a few curtained off biobeds obviously containing sleeping patients. As Spock wondered further into the room he caught sight of Dr McCoy and Dr Reid over at McCoys desk. While the southern doctor was sat down behind his desk the red head was leaned against his desk. They seemed to be in deep conversation and hadn't noticed Spocks presence at all but he could make out what they were saying.

"Leonard I've told you I'm fine, my throat feels fine, no I'm not experiencing any dry mouth."

"Maybe you shouldn't talk so much for the next couple of days just in case." Leonard looked up at the frustrated woman who was frowning down at him and smirked.

"But-" Alex was cut off by a finger over her mouth.

"What did i just say-"

Spock stopped dead in shock, as Dr Reid took the older doctors finger into her mouth, cheeks hollowing slightly as she lightly sucked. Spock watched the colour drain from McCoys face, a look of shock being replaced by slightly squinted eyes as he made no move to remove his finger. Leonards eyes darted down to the lips wrapped around his finger as his tongue came out subconsciously wetting his bottom lip. He would have expected the man to have made a scene, shouting profanities as he usually does but all Spock saw was a thick brow raise and hungry possessiveness fill the doctors eyes.

"You're enjoying this too much." The southern accent was thick and came out low, quiet enough so that if Spock had human hearing he wouldn't have heard anything. But unfortunately he didn't.

Planning his quiet escape in his head he started backing up slowly, things were going well until he backed himself up against a biobed making a quiet thud, two eyes darted towards him and Leonard removed his finger in a flash.

"Spock what're you doing here? Everything okay?" Leonard stood up immediately putting as much space between himself and Dr Reid as possible. His voice cracked with suprise at the sight of the vulcan. Spock struggled for words for approximately 2.6 seconds before straightening up and putting his hands behind his back. The doctor did genuinely look concerned despite the obviously sexual display carried out on him not 5 seconds prior to the interruption.

"Everything is fine doctor, I merely stopped by to inquire as to how Dr Reid and science officer Greshal were after today's events, but I have clearly interrupted something, I'll be on my way now." Spock turned on his heels heading right back out of the door he'd just came in through. To far out of ear shot to hear Dr McCoy making comments about how 'fast that green blooded bastard is when he wants to be'.

It may have not crossed the good doctors mind as the man genuinely looked concerned, but Spock could only describe what he'd just saw as pornographic, he was familiar with the concept of humans having a variation of different ways to entice eachother into ciotus but he had not heard of this act before. On vulcan that would be deemed highly inappropriate especially for it to happen in a public place. Vulcans, unless bonded rarely engaged in physical contact of any kind, and they certainly didn't carry out such sexual acts on one another in a place where people could see. Spock paused as he stormed down the corridors, realising to humans it wouldn't be deemed as highly inappropriate as it would be on vulcan. Humans did not have the sensitivity in their fingers that vulcans had. Spock could feel heat rising to his cheeks without his consent as he concluded that for a vulcan to have such an act carried out on them by their partner, it would undoubtedly be extremely arousing. He pondered on the reason behind humans carrying out such an act, they did not have the sensitivity therfore it should not be as pleasurable as he had witnessed. Dr McCoy had clearly shown shock at first but it had slipped into lust very quickly. Perhaps Jim would be able to answer his question. Spock paused outside his own quarters before taking the extra few steps to knock on his captain's door.

* * *

"To Spock we may aswell have been having sex on your desk. You think he'll say anything about it?" Alex whispered instinctively biting her nails anxiously as Leonard paced infront of the desk, frown in place and his arms folded. She seemed to be holding up suspiciously well after the days events.

"Of course he'll say something, to us or Jim though I'm not sure. But- wait what?" Leonard halted mid stride and turned on he red head. "There's no way, he knows what sex is and that was far from it." The red head sighed and stood up from her seat on the desk.

"Yea, but that being said he's also a vulcan, and vulcan hands, especially fingers are very sensitive. They can even be considered erogenous zones." her voice was clinical as if she was treating this like a medical issue rather than an awkward encounter. "I'm sorry that he saw but totally not sorry for doing it, your reaction was worth it." she gave a small toothy smile at the man stood across from her, eyes sparkling with mischief.

"How do you even know that?" Leonard studied her face as she blushed lightly looking down.  _is she embarrassed? That's adorable._

"I...err, I've dated one, kinda." she was quiet as she replied quickly getting up and turning around to clear the data padds on Leonards desk, busying herself and not looking at the man behind her who now wore a look of suprise. The atmosphere shift had threw him off guard.

"Kinda? how can you kinda date someone. Hey wait was this the vulcan from that story you were telling in the mess?" Bones had missed the tell tale signs of someone displaying a instinctual tic when thrown into an uncomfortable situation. The cleaning and rearranging of the things on his desk was almost obsessive compulsive.

"I don't wanna talk about it, I shouldn't have started telling that stupid story." Bones felt his hairs stand on end at the sharp and snappy reply, slowly un folding his arms watching the younger woman with concern as she continued to obsessively tidy his desk. He stepped forward quietly walking towards the flustered doctor till he was a couple of steps away from her she turned around just as he was bringing his hand up to give her arms a comforting squeeze and that's when everything became clear to Leonard.

 **Alex flinched**.

Something flashed across her eyes in that split second and her body reflexively twitched her arm up to protect her face.  _Fear._ Time seemed to slow down in that crucial moment, leaving a tense uneasy atmosphere in its wake as realisation hit Leonard like a tone of bricks, knocking a shaky breath out of him as pained understanding filled his wide eyes.

All he could do was stare, lost for words for a second until anger bubbled in his gut. Boiling to the surface as time caught back up with them.

_She flinched. That son of a bitch._

Before Leonard could say a word she was scrambling away muttering apologies. Why would she apologise for something like that? It wasn't her fault, if anything he should be the one apologising for bringing back such a horrific memory. He'd never have known otherwise. The flinch and that look in her eyes had gave it away. He felt awful, partly for scaring her but mostly he felt physically sick. How could anyone dare lay a hand on a woman. How could anyone find any sane reason to hit Alex?  _Coward. Fucking bastard, if I ever meet him I'll break his nose. Green blooded piece of shit. Why would you hit her? You didn't deserve her, why would you take a woman like that for granted. A woman that would take a bullet for someone, a woman that lights up the room anywhere she goes. How could you destroy someone like that. Why?_

"Alex wait!" Bones ran after her ignoring the strange looks he was getting from people as he chased the poor woman down the corridors of the ship till the turbo lift was in sight, his mind was reeling, anger, worry, affection all sloshing together in a sickening cocktail in his gut. He held out a hand just in time to stop the turbo lifts doors from fully closing, not prepared to see the usually confident and bubbly woman he'd grown to know falling apart in the lift, eyes streaming with tears as she held her hands to her mouth.

"Leonard I'm so sorry, I don't know what's happening, everything went to shit today and then the whole thing with Spock and that conversation I-I... I haven't thought about it in so long, and Riley, oh God Riley, I could've saved him, if id had just been quicker I-I..." A violent shiver raked her body as she curled into herself reflexively, quiet sobs shaking her as Leonard drew her into his arms, two slender arms shakily made there way up and wrapped around his neck as his shirt was gradually getting more damp from the face pressed into his shoulder.

He held her firm, one arm wrapped around her and the other soothingly stroking her hair. "Shhh, It's alright Alex, you've just popped the cork on a bottle full of emotions, I'm here, I'm not gunna let anyone hurt you. Nobody is gunna hurt you again." His voice hummed soothingly into her hair as he held her close, there was so much about this woman he didn't know. So much pain, maybe he wasn't the only one with baggage. But one thing he knew right then and there was that if he ever saw this vulcan bastard, he wasn't getting close to Alex. He didn't care if the bastard nerve pinched him, he wasn't laying a hand on her.

"It's just all so shit... W-hy do good people always die? Why do people lie, why is it always people we trust. I just want to help people Leonard, but they're so selfish. How come when people like us fall down we're just expected to get back up, there's no helping hand for us, no kind words. They don't care." She spluttered into his shirt, though she was rambling, alot of it struck home with Bones but he'd had a couple more years of experience to figure out the answer to the questions she was asking.

"I care, and we're doctors they think we can look after ourselves, most of the time that's true... But every now and again we need a helping hand too. Let me help? I'm no Saint sweetheart, but I won't lie to you." His voice was like honey, the thick southern accent trickling through making him sound a little more emotional than he was used to. The woman nudged her head up to look at him leaning back slightly because of how tall she was.

"You're calling me sweetheart because I'm upset, it works but I still don't like it."

Leonard chuckled as she nuzzled her head back into him but now into the crook of his neck. "I said it because it annoys you when I call you it, but having mixed feelings about it is possibly even better."

"Nah I still don't like it it sounds better when you say my name, sweetheart or darling are what you use with female patients. Or as me and nurse chapel have come to know most of them; 'your adoring fans.'" Before Leonard could come up with a witty response the turbo lift pinged, indicating they were on the right floor, they reluctantly pulled apart as the doors slid open. He looked down at her now swollen and red eyes as she offered him a reassuring smile. "Guess this is where we split off and go mope in our rooms now." She offered a short laugh, but there was no real humour behind it. Her eyes were still sad. He found himself instantly missing the steady warm breath against his neck and the fruity smell of what was either her perfume or shampoo.

"No we're both going back to your room were you're gunna go to bed and I'm gunna nap on the bean bag you have hiding under your desk. Trust me, first night after a mission like this one, you don't want to be alone." It was a bold move and he hoped he sounded convincing enough for her, he knew he was right but he didn't know whether she'd protest to the idea or not. His voice was hushed as they stepped out of the lift heading down the corridor slowly until they were stood outside her quarters. She just nodded at him in response, typing in the pass code to her door eyes still puffy from the tears that had poured out of them mere minutes ago. Not that the mission was the only reason he wanted to stick around for her, he didn't want her waking up in the middle of the night alone, after having a nightmare about that bastard from her past. Because unfortunately she was just as stubborn as himself and Jim, she wouldn't call someone she'd sit and suffer through it by herself.

It was unnervingly quiet as they entered her quarters, which were alot smaller than the quarters Leonard had, still roomy but not enough space for a sofa and kitchenette. Not that he didn't like her room, he was familiar enough with it by now. But he supposed being cmo of a star ship had its benefits. As soon as they stepped in her lights came on at 25% and she flung off her boots as music quietly started playing, she let out a heavy sigh as she put her boots at the end of her bed.

"Do you want a drink or something?" She turned her face toward him and he shook his head. "Alright, turn around for a second." Leonard did as he was told and heard the tell tale sound of fabric rustling and then being dropped on the floor. He gulped feeling a lump in his throat form. Wiping any inappropriate thoughts of the woman behind him from his mind, it wasn't the time for it, he was here to keep her company. Maybe comfort her if she needed it, he'd never seen her like that before. Crying and vulnerable, he didn't know if it was his duty as a doctor kicking in or the feelings he had for the woman making him want to take care of her, but it didn't matter right now. She needed a friend, someone she could trust. Leonard couldn't hear anymore movement, just the song gently playing in the background filling the room with a rather depressed atmosphere.

_"I told you to be patient_   
_I told you to be fine_   
_I told you to be balanced_   
_I told you to be kind_   
_Now all your love is wasted?_   
_Then who the hell was I?_   
_Now I'm breaking at the bridges_   
_And at the end of all your lines"_

He turned slowly at the sound of muffled singing to see fresh tears falling down freckled cheeks and a blank look in his doctors eyes. She wore a hugely oversized black t-shirt that read 'is there life on Mars?' and what looked like a pair of mens boxers in bright pink that clung tightly to her upper thighs. He suspected they were hers and not some she'd stolen from past lovers, mainly due to how worn they were, with holes present on one leg.

"Nice shirt, now cmon bed, doctors orders." Leonard strolled over to her, lightly holding her arm as he lifted the cover for her to get under.

"Will you sleep with me?" It was so quiet he barely heard it but the request still made him cough and splutter as he choked.

"You what?" He knew he was probably bright red but he had to make sure he'd heard her right. He realised it was an accidental misinterpretation when pale skin went crimson. He felt bad for laughing at the request but couldn't help himself.

"I-I- didn't mean it like that, while I'm sure that'd be great I'm not really in the mood right now I just kinda want to talk shit with you but also nap and be comfy is that okay?" Leonard looked at the lopsided smile she was giving him and couldn't find it in him to say no, it had nothing to do with the fact she looked cute as hell and he wanted to squish her in a really manly bear hug. That was when he realised that he'd frozen completely so he promptly let the duvet fall over her as he stood back a step and contemplated rather comically with his hand rubbing his chin.

"Alright, but this isn't becoming a regular thing. Well erm... how do you want me?" He raised his arms up and looked down at his fully clothed form as he stepped out of his boots.

"Well how do you normally sleep?" She asked eyebrows raised ever so slightly, a little mischief returning to her sad eyes.

Leonard smirked at her. "No. That's not happening."

"I'm totally okay with full frontal nudity, I'm a doctor I've seen it all." she grinned at him and he laughed waving her away with a bat of his hand.

"You don't even need me here you're already feeling better." He chided, but she took it a little more seriously.

"No no no I'm sorry I was just messing with you, I really would appreciate it if you stayed, I won't tell anyone, and you can't tell anyone that I'm this much of-, well a mess really. I don't normally ask people for favors like this so if you aren't comfortable I completely understand I-"

"You're rambling, shut it. I'm coming woman. If this is what'll make you feel better then it's got to be done, everyone has different things that work for em'. Alot of the time though people are too afraid to ask. So congrats on inviting a strange man into your bed." Bones tugged of his blue shirt and undershirt in one, putting them both on the desk,  _christ I never thought I'd be in a situation as weird as this._  He began un zipping his trousers before he noticed that he was being watched, but the green eyes weren't looking at his face, they were focused on his hands on his zipper. As he popped the button green eyes met brown and he'd never seen such a gorgeous woman somehow look so innocent and childlike about being caught staring. Her eyes darted away and he could see the blush heating her cheeks.

"Sorry, you just started undressing it kinda took me off guard." He was sort of shocked and flattered at the same time. Firstly because he'd caught the woman off guard? And secondly because her voice didn't sound as vulnerable when she spoke just then, it sounded almost like her usual cocky self just with some honesty and emotion thrown in. She didn't look back at him till he crawled into the bed beside her.

"You're not the first woman to say that." He chided, trying to get himself comfy and suddenly feeling very out of place inbetween blue cotton sheets. He could feel the fabric all over his skin, an intimacy he'd only shared with his own bed and not alongside anyone else in years. He made sure he didn't touch her underneath the sheets as he shuffled around.

"That doesn't suprise me." she sighed, eyes closing as she spoke before she was looking right at him, or what Leonard felt was more like right through him.

"You're not meant to agree with me you're meant to tell me I'm talking shit." He rolled his eyes sinking a little bit lower into the mattress, wondering why his usual confidence was missing and replaced with anxiety. This wasn't like him at all, he didn't get this nervous around women. Maybe it was the odd situation, he'd never in his life been in this type of situation if he was honest with himself _. Christ what's wrong with me, you're doing this to yourself man just do what feels right._

Instictively he stretched his arm out across her pillows, not really suprised when she scooted closer and rested her head on his shoulder. Aparently his body was more in tune with the situation than his mind was. The weird thing was as soon as she was at his side, face pressed into his shoulder and her hand on his chest he relaxed. Leonard wrapped his arm around her rubbing comforting circles into her shoulder, letting out a sigh he closed his eyes. The music had stopped now but the room wasn't silent, both of there breaths steady in the quiet room, he probably should have been hyper aware of where their bodies were touching but he wasn't. Which is why he cracked an eye open after feeling a small chuckle against his skin. Only just registering smooth legs pressed against one of his own. He didn't speak he just cocked a brow down at the smug looking red head who looked up to catch his gaze as he moved.  _This is surprisingly nice..._ He was surrounded by a sweet but not overpowering fruity smell and wrapped in warmth. He knew the woman he'd came to have feelings for was pressed right up against him, and under any other circumstances he knew she'd be doing it to drop a hint or test his will power, but right now it was purely about comfort. Comfort and trust.

"Your legs are ridiculously soft considering how hairy they are and you're like a radiator." she hummed subconsciously nuzzling her face further into his chest. She just hoped he wouldn't regret this or find it weird when he woke up, she didn't know why this made her feel better, hugging just always did help her. But with Leonard she felt safe aswell, safe, wanted, cared about. But she could hear his heart beat and feel the steady rise and fall of his chest and knew he was at ease.

"Sorry I can never find the time to shave em' like you seem too." He hummed, earning a small snort in response. He could feel her smiling against his chest, and found himself following suit closing his eyes again before frowning. "Hey Alex atleast tell me his name so I can kick his ass if I ever see him?" He felt her stiffen slightly as a frustrated whine escaped her, one of her legs suddenly shifting to rest across his hip and thigh. He was greeted with a fond memory of Jo throwing her leg over him after she'd had a nightmare and would get into bed beside him. That was before the retched ex wife had stopped him from seeing her. Still it was something that always made him smile. The pout on his daughters face as she hugged him like he was some sort of monster repellant.

"What're you laughing at?" curious green eyes sparkled as they looked up to him, and Leonard felt his heart stop for a second. Auburn curls were ruffled and playfully tickling his skin as her left cheek pressed against the crook in his shoulder, the light pink flush on her cheeks did things to him he wouldn't care to admit. Such an innocent look on such a mature and sculpted face, she was already gorgeous, had the type of face that screamed regal beauty but could also bring a man to his knees with one smirk and a burning look from behind thick lashes. She couldn't be cute aswell, her face didn't have any childlike qualities related to innocence about it in the slightest, yet here she was looking undeniably cute and curious. She wasn't allowed to be cute and sexy.

"I'll tell you if you tell me his name, anything else I'm not forcing you to talk about. Just want to know the bastards name." Leonard mumbled, eyes strained downward on the freckled contemplating face beneath him.

"His name is Torin, I was with him two years before one day, after a week of not seeing him or hearing from him I get what's essentially a wedding invite sent from new vulcan." She sighed, drawing patterns with the tip of her finger onto Leonards chest. "He wasn't always violent. But ah well, that's over now, what were you laughing at?"

"You." Leonard hummed chuckling at the glare of confusion. "The way you threw your leg over mine reminded me of my daughter, she used to do that after she'd had a bad dream, just walk from her room to mine, climb in and hug me like I'm the cure for all her bad dreams." He saw a soft smile appear under puffy red eyes.

"I didn't know you had a daughter." Leonard felt her stiffen very suddenly, putting her hand flat on his chest as if she was stabilising herself. "Are you married or-"

"Christ no, you think I would have let you sexualy assault me earlier if i was married?" Leonard teased, kicking at her leg under the sheets.

"I'd hardly call it sexual assault you definitely looked like you enjoyed it."

"That's besides the point. Anyhow, i used to be married, ex wife took everything, even Jo, I get to video call her every now nd again from the ship. Probably more than I'm allowed to see her to be honest."

"Wait what. You aren't allowed to see her? Why the hell not, how is that even allowed." Alex pushed herself up onto her elbows frowning.

"It's not really, she just refuses to let me see her alot of the time, saying I didn't have time for them back then so why do I have time now. She has a new man now, I recon she's just too caught up with him to be bothered to let me see my own kid, but by God do I miss that kid. First thing I'm doing when I get back is taking her out for ice-cream and she knows it. She's so damn smart aswell, but I'm afraid she's inherited my attitude. What?"

Alex couldn't help but smile as Leonard talked about his little girl, it was obvious how proud he was of her. She saw the glint in those tired brown eyes of his and she knew he loved her more than anything. That little girl was lucky to have such a good man as her dad. But she knew Leonard probably didn't consider himself a good farther, but it wasn't his fault his ex wife was doing these things. "I've never seen you more happy and proud than when you're talking about Jo. She's a lucky kid to have you as a dad."

Leonard mumbled thanks under his breath not used to being complimented on this particular topic, though he didn't think Jo was lucky to have him as a dad he was glad someone saw just how much he loved his little girl. "So what about you?"

"What do you mean? Ex husband? Because noooo." Alex laughed lightly.

"No you mare, any kids, you're plenty old enough I wouldn't think you have but I feel like I got to double check now." Alex was quiet for a lot longer than necessary before she replied, but Leonard couldn't see her face now it was back on his chest.

"No, no kids. Hopefully one day though." Her voice was quiet, but Leonard didn't want to pry so he left it at that.

"That's a shame, I think you'd make a great mother." He felt the smile against his skin and began tiredly playing with strands of ringlets that had strayed away from the pack.

"Thanks. Hey Leonard, please don't tell Jim about Torin, I know he's your friend but he seems like the type of person to get defensive over his crew, I don't want him ruining his reputation over something so stupid if he does bump into him. Same goes for you, I haven't been on the receiving end of your wrath yet but I know it exists."

"Whatever you say sweetcheeks." came the quiet response. Alex stifled a giggle at the tired reply, looking up to see Leonard half asleep. He'd probably said it by accident, but it made a strange warmth spread out from her chest as she smiled into his shoulder. Heat rising in her cheeks and pooling elsewhere for a second after realising the most likely reason behind the nickname.  _This man is going to be the death of me. Does he realise what he's doing? I mean of course he's hot as hell and has heaps of confidence in himself. But, he's just so kind..._

She turned her body gently away from his, lying on her side she pushed her head into her pillow. Feet still softly grazing those strong hairy legs. Being connected felt nice even if it was just by a little bit. She knew this was all happening quite fast, and how odd this situation imparticular was, but it felt right. It felt comfortable, there was no fear or anxiousness around Leonard. Even if she did one day piss him off she had a feeling it'd be nasty, but she wasn't worried about him hating her or if they'd ever talk again. He was too understanding to be petty. Unless someone did something really unforgivable of course.

Leonard shifted behind her, her breath caught in her throat when his hand fell on her waist as he unconsciously shuffled up behind her till they were spooning. His hand on the bare skin of her waist squeezed lightly before sliding down and around till it was resting on her belly. Little jolts of electricity sparked through her and his hand moved, but as soon as she shivered his arm pulled her in closer, like a reflex, she didn't dare move, despite the fact he'd managed to wiggle his way up inside her baggy shirt as he slept. Aslong as he kept his hand central it'd be fine, because she had no idea what she'd do if he got a handful of boob in his sleep. Leonard groaned wearily behind her as he nuzzled his face into back of her neck, breathing hotly on sensitive skin just under her ear.  _How he's managed to get further down the pillow than me I'll never know._  She smiled fondly at the warm body pressed against her like some sort of jigsaw puzzle.  _I wish I could sleep like this more than just this one time._

"Sleep well, Leonard." The gentle whisper was answered with a small smile against her skin.


	9. Hallowed cheeks

I could have uplaoded the entire story to be up to date in one day but im lazy so... Im adding the current chapters on here slowly. Sorry :')

* * *

 

The silhouette in Jim's doorway was tall and stiff giving clear indication to who it was, though the pointed ears were also a giveaway. He shuffled in bed awkwardly for a second before clearing his throat loudly.

"Sorry Spock wasn't expecting anyone at this time, lights 30%, what can I do for you?" Jim sat up a little straighter in bed noticing the way Spock's gaze seemed to momentarily linger on his bare torso, because honestly, Jim couldn't think of anyone else on this ship apart from Spock that wore the regulation pajamas to bed. Don't ask him how he knew Spock wore them. He stayed quiet as Spock slowly stepped further into the room before hesitating, chocolate eyes meeting blue ones. Being under such a scrutinised gaze made Jim glad he wasn't completely naked and vulnerable, he was suddenly ever thankful for the boxers he was wearing even if his entire bottom half was covered by the duvet. It's not that he wasn't used to Spock looking at him but there was something

"If this is an inconvenient time, captain, I can return at a later date." Spocks voice was confident as usual but there was something else there that Jim just couldn't quite place, confusion? Curiosity?

"Spock it's fine, and it's Jim when we're off duty we talked about this, sit down and tell me what's going on."

"Very well, Jim." to his surprise Spock perched himself at the end of the bed rather than on the small sofa he usually seated himself at during their random late night conversations. Again, don't ask they had a very weird relationship. Jim felt the mattress give slightly as the extra weight settled and felt a sudden nervous heat rush from the pit of his stomach to his cheeks.  _I can just pass it off as being to warm if he notices, what the hell is wrong with me._

"I have recently came across a human gesture which I do not completely understand and was wondering if you would be able to give me some insight into the social implications of said gesture. Though I could explain the gesture I think showing you would provide more useful Intel, if that's agreeable to you, Jim?"

Jim eyed the vulcan carefully seeing no maliciousness intent behind those oh so human brown eyes. He didn't know why he bothered checking, it wasn't like Spock to mess with him. And it was basically an experiment of sorts so there was no reason for Spock to not take it as seriously as one of his science experiments. "So you're not gunna tell me what it's about until after the little experiment?" Jim raised a brow wearily. Something in his gut twisted nervously at all of the possible strange human gestures there was, he secretly hoped he wasn't gunna get slapped in the face.

"Indeed, it is the nature of this gesture to be a surprise I believe. However, if you feel uncomfortable at all during this experiment it is acceptable to pull away. Afterwards I wish to discuss the results with you, you are the only crew member I thought acceptable to conduct this experiment with as the others may judge me wrongly." Spock looked down for a second before snapping his stare back up looking right through Jim.

"Alright well you're kinda making me nervous so I'd get it over with sooner rather than later, I promise not to judge." his voice came out steady as he offered a reassuring smile to the man sat across from him, it was odd seeing Spock sat on a bed with his usual stiff and perfect posture twisted to face the person he was talking to, Jim found it oddly endearing. He hoped the vulcan couldn't sense the uncertainty he was feeling, it was churning in his stomach like he'd eaten some bad chicken. Though he did find himself feeling oddly giddy at the thought of Spock trusting him so much that he was the only person he thought acceptable for whatever this little experiment was. The inner turmoil over his feelings for the vulcan were momentarily forgotten.

"Very well Jim, close your eyes… please." Jim did as he was told letting out a shaky breath as he did so, he had no idea what to expect right now and his stomach was flipping and being so vulnerable under someone so much stronger than himself. It also spurred a lot of inappropriate thoughts which he buried quickly,  _obviously I don't want to spoil the experiment with them._ He lied to himself.

His breath caught in his throat when he felt a hand slide around his wrist and ever so slowly lift his hand into the open air between them. He wanted to open his eyes so badly but he didn't. It felt strange having this contact with Spock, sure he touched Spock all the time, he didn't really do personal space very well. But spock had gotten used to it despite it originally being one of the things he hated most, Jim just guessed it was because he knew Jim was doing it in a friendly sort of way. But this touch his wrist being held firmly and being stretched out in front of him felt oddly intimate, especially for Spock. But for the life of him he couldn't wrap his head around what human gesture this was. He felt warm air hit his hand and he was so focused on figuring out the type of gesture it was it was too late before he realised it was Spock's breath hitting his knuckles.

Before he could pull away his index finger was eloped in a wet heat. His eyes shot open and he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Something inside him shattered, as curious brown eyes watched him under thick lashes, plump lips wrapped around his finger with hollowed cheeks as Spock sucked lightly on his finger. He could feel his face burning but he was frozen in place. Then everything hit him at once, his mind was reeling as the sensations of the assault on his finger caught up with him and the image in front of him was burned into the forefront of his mind, he was already feeling a lot more  _awake_  than usual. But then Spock flicked his tongue against the pad of his finger and he couldn't stop the small sound that escaped his mouth.  _Did I just-_

"Spock, stop, that's enough jesus." Jim tugged his finger back, trying to ignore the popping sound it made when it left his commanders mouth. Was his dick ignoring anything even slightly intimate sounding right now though?  _Yea, no._  He fidgeted even further back from the positively green vulcan as far as he could as his dick twitched insistently.  _Wait green? Oh my god Spocks blushing. He probably thinking he's done something awful, well it wasn't exactly inappropriate but. I can't even think right now._

"Captain, I apologise, your reaction indicates that it was a very inappropriate action, I will understand if you would wish to reprimand me for my-"

"Spock, stop give me a second okay, I'm not gunna punish you just shut up for a second." Jim put his head in his hands and sighed heavily. Mind still reeling from what had just happened.  _How do I even begin to explain this to him._ "Spock I'm not sure where you've seen that but, it's considered quite an intimate thing for humans to do, it affects some more than others, and is generally used to get a reaction from a guy… you know." Jim paused for a second seeing an eyebrow raise as if urging him to continue. God did this feel awkward. "To turn a guy on."

Spock turned his head to the side for a second eyes searching as if he was sorting through facts in his head. Leaving Jim with an awkward boner in a rather charged atmosphere. "I apologise, Jim. I feel as though I should have known better, it was my original theory that this shouldn't affect humans in such a way as they lack the sensitivity that vulcans have in their hands. It was wrong of me to conduct such an experiment on you."

"err, well while it was inappropriate there's no harm done sp- hold on a second vulcans have higher sensitivity in their hands than humans do? Which means in vulcan culture this would be considered wildly inappropriate, you totally got off on doing that to me-"

"I do not comprehend your meaning captain it was simply a-"

"Yea yea Spock I saw how green your cheeks and ears got, don't try and bullshit me, it turned you on a little but you don't like the fact it did." Jim found himself feeling more at ease now that he'd found something to throw at spock from the entire experience. Who'd have thought his stoic first officer would be so kinky. "Plus you called me captain, Spock language 101 that you're getting defensive!" Jim whipped the covers off himself and flung his legs over the side of the bed, before scrambling for the covers again to cover his still visible problem. He turned to face the vulcan even brighter red than before hoping he hadn't noticed. To his misery he saw brown eyes flicker from where the duvet was now scrunched up in his lap up to his eyes.  _Bastard_. Realisation momentarily flashed across Spocks face before it was replaced with a mask.

"It appears that you are experiencing additional side effects from the experiment, Jim...Which would indicate that you were in fact the one that 'got off' on such an act. I have overstayed my welcome, I'll be in my quarters should you need me for anything, Captain."

"Hey Spock." Spock turned as he was about to pass through their joint bathroom to his own quarters. An eyebrow raised but his face blank. "Has anyone ever done that to you before?"

"They have not." Jim nodded, already seeing that Spock was recoiling into himself going full on vulcan mode because of whatever emotions were whirling round in his head right now. Jim strangely didn't feel as awkward as he thought he would, especially since he knew Spock has a similar offers drastic reaction. Though he supposed it was more of a big deal for Spock since vulcans rarely touched anyway and that would be considered near pornographic in his culture.

"Where did you see this by the way?" Jim cocked his head slightly voice softer than before.

"I happened to walk in at the moment such an act was being performed on Dr McCoy, I had hoped to understand the oddly predatory look that had came over him in this instance however, I now understand that look in particular, to be that of lust. Is that all captain?" Spocks head cocked slightly more to the side, meeting crystal clear orbs that sent a shiver through the vulcan.  _Humans are strange creatures, but none are more complex or intriguing than that of James tiberius kirk._

Jim held the stare before replying, "You're dismissed Commander, but do me a favour Spock, don't worry about it." he gave a small smile at the vulcan in the doorway. He received a curt nod in response and was then left in silence. Alone again.  _Christ what just happened I should be freaking out right now. I should be behaving worse than Spock! Whats ten times worse though is that he's probably gunna go super vulcan and become a robot for the next couple of days. Wait... He saw Dr Reid doing this right? Do i tell bones what the hell hes caused or... Actually. Hed probably find it hilarious. Cant tell bones. Christ i need to tell someone or its going to drive me mad._

He mulled over his options in his head before coming to the conclusion that the best person to talk to this about would probably be someone with knowledge on human behavior, who knows maybe itd help explain what the hell had come over spock if he'd already suspected it to be a taboo gesture. Or the fact that vulcans hands were so sensitive... Jims erection twitched remembering the look on spocks face after hed took his finger back. That faint green tint to his cheeks and those brown eyes staring right at him whilst all jim could look at was his first officers parted slightly swollen lips.

_None of this would have happened if those two could just keep it in there pants. But pay back is gunna be sweet._

Now all Jim had to do was take a cold shower and plot his revenge, cursing at how the vulcan had somehow managed to blue ball him without even technically touching him. He'd get spock back aswell somehow. He'd like to see the look on his face if he sucked on Spocks finger... _Not helping_.


	10. You've been busy

 Time for things to start getting spicy.

* * *

 

Alex stirred in her sleep cracking her eyes open because of movement next to her. There was a shift in the mattress beside her and a sudden loss of warmth, momentary panic shot through her until she groggily clocked onto a figure moving in the darkness towards the bathroom. He didn't turn on the light as he went in to avoid blinding himself, she guessed he'd just opted to sit down if he did actually need the toilet. The sound of running water could be heard in the space of a couple of minutes before the bathroom door quietly slid open as the figure crept back into the room towards the bed. Through heavy lids she could just make out the slow walk the shadow did to avoid making too much noise.  _Hes far too nice, have i actually picked a nice guy for once?_

"Mmm are you okay?" Alex mumbled sleepily into the darkness of her room as the mattress sank to the side of her. She heard a faint hum in response.

"M'fine, but it's damn cold in your room compared to in here." Leonard's voice was soft and muffled by the pillow he'd just shoved his face into as he tried to slyly steal more of the duvet and wrap it around himself. Alex let out a small giggle. This all felt so normal.  _He's just crawled right back into bed and shoved his face in his pillow like it was his own... God why does this feel so natural and exciting all at the same time. What i would give to wake up to that face more than just this one tim- god im really getting ahead of myself. I shouldn't like him this much, but i do… i'm not even just attracted to just his looks, it's just him. Everything about him..._

"Leonardddd, stop it i don't want a boogie man attacking me because im not under the covers." She tugged on the blanket using her body weight as leverage, leaning further into leonard as she stretched her arm out away from her in an attempt to take back the covers. A groan behind her made her stop dead especially after a hand had snaked its way around her waist and pulled her in closer, the half asleep man mumbling something about a human space heater.

"Good god you're so warm…" Leonard hummed as he nuzzled his head into the crook of her neck. He never knew spooning could be this nice. Or that red heads were actually made of fire and warmth but hey he liked her anyway.  _Yea this redhead is definitely hot, in both senses. Typical of me to actually fall for her personality as well as her looks really, but im probably not the only guy… theres gunna be other guys thinking the same things._

"And you're freezing, ahh Leonard don't put your hand on my bare skin you're like a human ice lolly right now." Alex hissed in protest quietly as a very low chuckle could be felt vibrating through her neck and back. That alone made her shiver.  _What the hell is this bastard planning?_ Though Alex definitely wasn't complaining at being little spoon, especially since the big spoon was attractive, caring, and… delightfully firm against her back.

"I could use my cold hands in much crueler ways so stop whining woman. Just… sleep…" the words came out slow and slurred as leonard felt himself starting to drift off again, he was just enjoying the warmth if he was honest. And he may have also liked the fact she was letting him hold her, he'd never been so comfortable in all his life. Was he hell going to overthink any of this. He was done with being cautious he was already in bed with her for christ sake, now that didn't mean he was suddenly about to take advantage of that fact. No sir he was a gentleman and he was here to provide comfort right now, besides… he was enjoying the warm feeling that was spreading through him as he smiled into the crook of her neck. Contempt and warm Leonard drifted off again enveloped in warmth.

He opened his eyes groggily feeling well rested but sleepy all the same, the warmth to his side making him despise the idea of getting out of bed. He turned his head down to look at the ruffled mess of ginger hair strewn across his chest and smirked. Silently scolding himself for getting so emotionally invested as he pushed stray hairs back from Alex's face. He couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips seeing the look on her face, mouth half open and looking completely out of it, but hell she still made being an ugly sleeper look good with her long lashes and cute scattering of freckles. letting his head fall back into the pillow he went about tracing little circles with his fingers across the red heads back. The feeling of skin on skin was comforting, until realisation dawned on the doctor forcing him to snap his eyes open. Hand carefully now tracing a line down the expanse of her back.  _Shes took her shirt off. Of course she'd do this and cuddle back in like it's nothing. Pressed up against me all innocent and sweet, thank the lord the duvets still covering her modesty. If it was anyone else they would have taken advantage of her like this, so half the men on this godforsaken ship then._ Working himself into a bad mood he hadn't noticed the red head against him wake up or that she was looking at him with curiosity in her eyes, until she shifted against his side chest pressed more firmly against him than before.

"Why do you look so angry so early in the morning?" her voice was like honey, sweet with a loving purr to it that matched the small smile that spread across her lips. For a second leonard was awe struck. Yes she looked glorious when just waking up but it was her eyes. He was transfixed. Hed never actually been this close for long enough to look at them properly. You could take all the leaves off hundreds of trees in the summer and still wouldn't have enough shades of green.

"Your eyes... my god." was all Leonard managed in his awestruck stupor.

"Awe god have i burst a blood vessel or something?" Her hand came up from beneath the covers to subconsciously touch her face the duvet sliding slightly down the curve of her back revealing the curved outline of her breasts as they pressed against leonards side creating what only could be described as cleavage. His eyes dropped down to the newly exposed flesh and his brows raised on there own accord. Suddenly knowing exactly where her nipples should be against his side and the view itself was… enticing to say the least. His eyes snapped back up to hers, she didn't seem to notice his momentary distraction.

He chuckled at the concern on her face momentarily distracted from how her bare skin was touching his. "No, you've just got nice eyes, had me struggling for words for a second. Nice eyes for a witch that is." He chuckled harder at the small slap on the chest he received for the insult.

"Hey Leonard." Alex purred, tracing patterns with her fingertip onto his chest.

"Yea?"

"Would you still like me if i had some weird deformity?" Green eyes met brown and the cmo found himself raising his brows.

"First of all from what i can see there's not a damn thing wrong with you and i mean that. Second of all no deformity is gonna stop me from liking someone, i'm not that shallow. I'm friends with the hobgoblin aren't i?" he let out a chuckle stroking his hand down the red heads back face falling slightly as he saw her suck her cheeks in awkwardly. "Why?" A frown formed on his face as concern filled him.

"Well i… i do have a little bit of a… it's not really a deformity its just different and doesn't make much sense." Alex stuttered gesturing with her free arm nervously.

"Whoa whoa, slow down alright you wriggle any more and your boobs gonna pop right out. Just relax. Alright now you're laughing at me? What?" leonard couldn't help cracking a smile as the red head thudded her head into his chest and her body shook with laughter.

"Just never thought i'd hear those words come outta your mouth." Lifting her head up she grinned at him and swiftly turned in his arms so she was lying on her belly but still able to look at him. "Better?"

His eyes flickered down the curve of her back, following the flowing mane of hair over her shoulders down to the more prominent cleavage now on show as she pressed herself into the mattress instead of his side. She looked so soft. He just wanted to run his hands over her, feel her skin on his own and she was doing nothing to help his mounting frustration. But now didn't feel like the right time to try lay any moves on her even if she did respond in kind.

"Comfortable for you and a better view for-ow!" He swatted at her arm as she slapped him on the chest again, despite the fact they were both grinning and laughing. Before the glint of mischief in her eyes was replaced with something a little more serious. Something in leonard stirred and he pulled himself into a sitting position on the bed.

"I've only ever showed one other person. But i- look i trust you. Just errr- don't freak out please."

"I promise i won't."

Leonard waited patiently, he could see the apprehension on her face clear as day but a reassuring look earned him a nervous half smile and a sigh. Seeming to have plucked up the courage she slowly raised one of her hands off the bed tucking her hair behind one ear. At first leonard was confused as she let out a relieved sigh, then he stopped breathing. He had never noticed before, probably because he'd never actually seen them fully.

Her ears.

They were curved to a point.

They were shaped like a vulcans…

"Im not gunna lie i wasn't expecting that, does this mean you're a-" he reached out to touch them before pulling his hand back.

"No no i'm not a vulcan im human. Like I said it's just a disfigurement. Can't you see how they aren't as flat and smooth as spocks? They still have the outer ridge that humans have. And I bleed red c'mon I think i'd know if I was a vulcan." she laughed nervously tucking hair from the other side of her head behind the other ear so they were both on show.

"Why hide em? They suit you, more pixie like than witch like though." He couldn't deny they really did suit her as he gave her a wink. There was something oddly endearing about them as well. They gave her a completely different look in a way. Going from hot doctor to sexy fairy.  _Christ she'd kill me if she knew what i was thinking right now. But there has to be a reason for it? I've never in my life seen a deformation so perfect and symmetrical. If it was one ear sure but both? It doesn't make sense._ He stared a little longer at them noting the how elegant they looked, it certainly explained why her hearing was better but then again so would being a vulcan.

"Well because i don't think i could deal with everyone i meet asking if i was a vulcan and they're just different i guess. Although earths more accepting than it's ever been we're also much more judgemental than we've ever been. People are cruel you know?" She laughed lightly before lying down again cuddling in to leonard's side. "Besides, i don't want to go insulting any vulcans."

"Look i know you aren't gonna like this but i want to run some tests. It's just highly unlikely that this is some random deformation. I think-"

"No." she immediately pulled away from his chest glaring at him for even suggesting such a thing.

"But Alex for crying out loud woman, they're not deformed they're perfectly shaped and perfectly symmetrical! Have you ever had any tests done to look into it?" leonard got out of bed and started pacing the floor slowly pulling his clothes back on as he frowned deep in thought.

"Look i said no. Both my parents are human it's just not possible, so drop it." Her tone was final. Leonard turned to look at her from the bottom of the bed where he was pulling on his shirt. He was greeted by a very angry redhead, who'd thrown a shirt on without him seeing and was sat up in the bed with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Alright fine, suit yourself it's not my problem anyhow." Leonard mumbled the last part a bad mood setting in already and so early in the day. He didnt want to change her he just wanted to know why her ears were the way they were. Just curiosity.

"Its not your problem?! So what its a problem now?" Leonard frowned down at the fiery red head that was shouting at him, who had decided to get out of bed and storm over till she was centimeters away from him. He could physically feel the anger bubbling from her. If this was any other time he'd probably be distracted by how hot she looked when she was pissed but instead he could feel himself losing patience.

"That's not what i meant and you know it." Leonard ground out, his jaw clenched tightly till his teeth were almost grating off one another.

"Are you sure about that? Because i distinctly remember you wanting run a load of tests on me? Do you think it's something you can cure doctor?" the sarcasm dripped from her tongue laced with some kind of poison.

"I'm a doctor damn it woman! I like to know how and why things happen, so whatever you're telling yourself my intentions were you're wrong." Leonard finally snapped at her crazy implications.  _What the hell does she take me for? "I trust you Leonard" like hell you do. I'm too old for this shit._

"Funny because it sounded like you wanted to use me as some kind of experiment for a second there." there was fire in her eyes as she stared at him and leonard felt something ignite in himself.

"My god don't flatter yourself. Some trust you have in me sweetheart. See you at work." Leonard turned on his heels and stormed out of her room, not caring who saw him leave. They all knew to stay well away from him anyway, never approach and angry Leonard McCoy. On pain of death. Or in this case many,many hypos. Entering sick bay the nurses scattered like sheep from a mountain lion. Forming a perfectly clear path from the door to Leonard's desk. Perfect morning ruined by the same fiery little minx that made it so great in the first place.  _Typical_.

* * *

Despite lasts nights events Jim was in a glorious mood when he woke up and got to the bridge flashing everyone especially spock that winning smile of his, and he didn't miss the slight green tint in his commanders ears as he plonked himself into the captain's chair and offered spock a playful wink as he bit into an apple. Planet side missions thus far were going smoothly they'd had no transporter mishaps since the forest fire incident and had gotten to witness the beautiful planet re grow itself multiple times. Going from burnt out cinder and ash, back to luscious green.

Everyone was working well and moral was at an all time high. He'd sent a message to Dr Reid that morning a confirmation to release the video blog she'd created whenever she was ready, and received the paperwork hed asked spock to write up about it unsurprisingly at least 8 hours before that. He just hoped the video blog would be a hit with the crew and would boost moral even more, plus he kinda wanted to get back at Bones a little bit for the situation he got himself in last night with his first. Not that it was his friends fault spock saw and was confused but hey, he knew Bones would definitely grumble about how much he was in the video and probably scold Jim for giving authorisation for it to be posted online. Probably rambling about not giving consent to being recorded. Though the rest of the crew would probably agree with Jim on one aspect. Bones definitely didn't look like he was hating all the attention he was getting from a certain green eyed doctor. Which would totally rile him up even more, payback was sweet. Although he should definitely think of a better way of getting back at Dr Reid aswell, Bones wasn't the only one to blame here. To be honest Bones kind of sounded like a victim who'd had it sprung upon him unexpectedly.

A call from med bay interrupted his train of thought as he clicked the button to answer the call a rather haughty female voice came through.  _Speak of the devil and she will appear._

"Dr Reid to the bridge, Captain we have received an urgent request to beam up from the current away team who claim to be suffering from symptoms of MDM-Alpha2b or otherwise know as, the sex pollen. As this is considered an unknown strain until we get test results back, we are not yet certain of how it is spread so we recommend crew members take precautions in avoiding skin on skin contact with other crew members and keeping your distance especially from crew members who appear to be suffering from hayfever like symptoms. I'll be reporting to the bridge shortly to provide face masks, while Doctor McCoy deals with the away team, but let's hope you won't need them."

"Thanks for the heads up doc, I'll take it from here and i'll see you on the bridge shortly." Jim sighed and rolled his eyes, momentarily putting his head into his hand massaging his brow. they'd dealt with this a couple of times before and it always threw a lot of the crew off every time it happened. Not that he could blame them, sleeping with someone just because you were infected with a pathogen that compelled you to have sex wasn't exactly what people wanted or needed. He looked up to see Uhura looking at him expectantly.

"Uhura ship wide announcement. This is your captain speaking we appear to be dealing with another MDM-Alpha2b situation or as we all know it, the sex pollen. Until we have the situation under control it's recommended that you avoid skin on skin contact with other crew members and avoid being in close proximity with one another especially crew members who seem to be experiencing hay fever like symptoms. If you do feel you have been infected with the pathogen please go to your quarters avoiding other crew members if possible and comm med bay, do not attempt to leave your quarter's. You know the drill everyone lets keep this short and sweet, we don't want another repeat of the last time this happened. Kirk out."

There was a hung silence on the bridge before Chekov piped up with something that nobody was expecting.

"Does this change the conditions of ze bets currently placed on Dr Reid and Dr Mccoy?" the russian turned in his seat to look at Jim. Jim couldn't help but laugh.

"Out of all the times we've came across this Bones has never got infected, I doubt Dr Reid will either. So no the it's not going to affect it." Jim grinned, oh how Bones would kill him if he knew about the betting pool.

"There's got to be a high chance that they'll get infected though, since they're working so closely with it, right?" Sulu frowned as he turned to chekov.

"There is in fact a 68.7 percent chance that Dr Mccoy may become infected with the pathogen as he is the first to be in contact with the away team, and a further 84.3 percent chance that if infected he would seek out Dr Reid over any other crew member. So i believe the odds are in favour of whoever has placed a bet on today's date or the closest bet too today's date."

Spock was stoic as usual reciting the statistics casually as he looked over his workstation eyes never leaving the console. He was un aware the entire bridge crew was staring at him. Nor had anyone noticed the doors to the lift open prior to Spock's speech, apart from Nyota.

"It appears your calculations are off, commander." Everyone's eyes snapped towards the lift and the red head clad in a blue uniform now occupying the space holding a small white bag. She nodded at Jim in the captain's chair, "Captain."

"Doctor Reid." Jim gave her a warm smile which was returned as she made her way onto the bridge handing out face masks and what appeared to be rubber gloves. Jim turned to see spock with the smallest of frowns on his face as if he was confused at how she could question his accuracy.

"I'm sorry Doctor but would you care to elaborate on how my calculations are incorrect." Spock turned his head slightly as he spoke mimicking that of a curious dog. Watching the red head move around the bridge as she handed out equipment while she replied.

"You appear to be under the impression that the odds are in favour of anyone who's placed a bet on today's date without taking into consideration the odds of my consent." She stopped in front of spock handing him a pair of gloves and a mask which he took slowly, making sure not to make skin contact.

"The odds of your consent currently stand at 74.6 percent, taking into consideration recent events." Spock raised a brow, something that the slightly shorter doctor mimicked.  _Spock really has no idea about women he's playing a dangerous game._ Jims mind was reeling over spock's reply and was currently praying that spock would survive the beating from an angry red head. The entire crew seemed to be holding their breath, spock really didn't know how to do subtlety.

"I think you'll find that due to recent events commander, the odds of me accepting any proposition from Dr Mccoy currently stand at zero percent. Now commander Spock, it is high priority that you of all people do not get infected as with your superior strength and loss of inhibitions from the pathogen you could cause serious damage to another crew member so please be careful." She offered Spock a cheeky smile and a wink before turning back towards the lift. Anyone that didn't know spock would say he was un affected but Jim could see quite plainly that spock was in some state of shock, he was lost for words. Almost.

"Yes, Doctor…" Spock trailed off looking down at the face mask and gloves in his hand before promptly gathering his composure back and turning back to his work station after he'd securely put the gloves on.

Jim was really trying not to laugh from the captain's chair. It was more funny the fact it was a completely professional comment yet she still managed to get back at spock. He could see Uhura with her hand to her mouth trying to cover a smile as she checked her station. Nobody spoke a word as they carried on working but nor were any of them forgetting what had happened any time soon. The day spock got owned.  _History in the making_. Jim chuckled to himself at the thought.

"Wait… does zat mean they had a fight? Mccoy must have really pissed her off, ya?" Laughter cut through the tense silence like a knife.

"I have heard from Chapel at lunch that there's a real tense atmosphere down in med bay today, she's not sure what happened but she suspects a 'lovers quarrel'." Sulu did air quotes as he spoke a smirk plastered on his face.

"They'll be fine, zey are professionals and i do not think zey can hold a grudge against each other for too long." Chekov added turning back to face his work station properly.

"Lets hope thats the case Chekov, either way they'll both have this pathogen under control soon." Jim nodded at the blonde with a small smile. Subtly cutting the discussion off. The next couple of hours went by rather quickly with no incidents occurring on the bridge which thank god, he couldn't deal with any of that right now, besides he had no doubt itd raise a lot of questions with the crew if he got infected and went straight for his first officer. Although not being kept up to date was a tad un nerving but he had faith in bones to keep everything under control.

His data padd made a ping as he received a message. Dr Reid s name flashed on the screen as he opened the message

**This particular strain of the sex pollen (MDM-Alpha2b) appears to wear off after a couple of hours without any interference from an outside source. Although the starting affects are very strong they fade as the pathogen eventually clears from a patient's system.**

**It is at its strongest at the beginning of infection and therefore wise to stay clear of temptation or any other crew members. Although symptoms and discomfort may ease from a form of climax, penetrative intercourse isn't necessary, and it will clear out of a patient's system without interference in 3-5 hours.**

**Dr McCoy has been unfortunate enough to be infected by an overly enthusiastic patient and will be off duty for the next 3-5 hours as per his own request. He can be found in his quarters.**

**Other than that the situation is now under control, face masks and gloves should no longer be needed. The pathogen is spread first due to a pollen from the planet's native flora, it is then passed from person to person from saliva.**

**-ADR**

**##########**

Jim couldn't help throwing his head back and laughing. Gaining the attention of everyone on the bridge. Spock raised a brow to his right.

"Looks like your calculations were right in one sense Spock, Bones did get infected. Luckily though this strain of the pathogen wears off within 5 hours, it's all under control now everyone!" Jim turned to the rest of the bridge crew with a huge grin plastered in his face. Honestly he should feel bad for his friend but he really didn't. Not one bit. After his shift had inevitably came to an end a couple of hours later he decided to go keep bones company while he dealt with the last dregs of the pathogen and no doubt being irritable from the sudden rise in libido as it went back down to more normal levels. Of course when Jim arrived he wasn't greeted kindly.

"What do you want Kid i told the witch to tell you why i'm out of commission for the next couple of hours did she not tell you or do you just not care?" Bones grumbled from behind his door.

"If by 'the witch' you're referring to the talented Dr Reid then yea she told me, c'mon Bones let me in i highly doubt you're gunna jump me. I came to keep you company not torment you although i do wanna know how you got yourself infected." Jim waited for a reply but was just met with silence. "Bones if you dont open the door i'm going to use my override code on it."

The second Jim had finished his sentence the door slid open revealing a rather disheveled looking Bones. Frown plastered on his face a little harder than usual with a 5 o'clock shadow, wearing black slacks and a loose fitting black shirt that was completely unbuttoned. Jim could tell Bones hadn't been dealing with it like any other guy would, he had to do things the hard way. Instead of helping himself out his friend had immediately poured himself a glass bourbon, that had to have been at the very start of him being infected because right now the bottle next to the glass was looking rather empty. The room was dimly lit as Jim shuffled in slumping down in the second chair across from where bones had hunkered down at his side table with his ever faithful bottle of booze.

"So Bones, when did you decide to grow a beard?" Jim sniggered as Bones begrudgingly poured him a glass of bourbon from the last of the bottle grumbling whilst he did so.

"Since i decided shaving is more hassle than it's worth, but that's not what you really wanna know is it Jimbo?" His voice came out lower than usual not by much but it was definitely noticeable, Jim let out a quiet chuckle as bones coughed to clear his throat.

"No, how in the hell did you get infected Bones, Dr Reid said something about an overly eager patient?" Jim leaned forward slightly in his chair he could tell his friend was tense, but he felt like there was another underlying reason for it other than the sex pollen messing with his system.

Bones sniggered pinching the bridge of his nose and squeezing his eyes shut in the process. "Well she's not wrong, had her sat on a biobed doing tests and all of a sudden i had a tongue down my throat and you could hear a needle drop."

* * *

Thinking back on it that silence was one of the most tense moments he'd had on the ship, as the pathogen quickly started taking affect and the eyes of everyone in the med bay were on him he was extremely aware of his position as cmo, and his current position attached to a random crew member who'd hed never spoke to before in his life. The urge to carry on kissing her was stronger than hed like to admit. Not that he'd kissed back, hell he was still in shock over the entire situation even when his hormones started running rampant and rising to extreme levels and the woman in front of him had almost been taken away as quickly as the incident itself had happened.

When he next looked up there were bright green eyes looking right into his and the curtains were drawn partially around them to offer some sort of privacy. In hindsight he knew why she hadn't drawn them completely, she needed staff and patients to know nothing funny was happening and it was still a professional setting. But Leonard didn't care he'd latched himself onto her hips in an instant, hands like a vice wishing she didn't have this stupid dress on, he wanted to touch her skin so badly. Hed made no other movement but even that small slip up was warning enough for her that he was losing control. That and the fact he may have growled at her. He must have done something to elicit the delicious flush in her cheeks. He watched as her tongue darted out to wet her lips instinctively and groaned. With the little strength he had left he leaned forward and rested his head on her shoulder squeezing his eyes shut. Willing himself to focus all the while his body was acting against his will, the feeling of losing control was terrifying. Something he never wanted to experience again.

"We have to get you out of here Leonard. There's too many people." He heard the words being whispered as hands were squeezing at his shoulders. He shivered in disgust at the thought of him doing anything to a patient while in this state. She was worried. Worried about him.

"I know." He grunted, breathing heavily against her neck as he tried to keep his composure. Although every time he breathed in it was all her, her perfume, her natural pheromones. Chipping away at any control he had left. He was already rock hard, luckily that affect in particular was being blocked from everyone else's view by Alex stood in front of him. But she was almost too close. All his senses became heightened yet fuzzy and unfocused simultaneously as he felt her rather than heard her speaking, the tiny vibrations that went through her body as she spoke, he didn't know about what or too who. He didn't care. Until he felt a tug at his atoms as the teleporter worked at getting him out of the med bay into what he realised on materialization was his quarters. But he wasn't alone, he was still firmly latched on. That was a mistake.

* * *

"Hey hey Bones snap out of it!" Jim clicked in front of his face bringing him back to the present, he willed his blood to stop travelling south and cut off his train of thought. "Where's your head at?"

Jim genuinely looked concerned as Bones met his gaze. That just made him feel even more guilty.

"I did something stupid, i got transported out of med bay to my quarters and…"

"What is it Bones…" Jim really wasn't liking this drawn out confession as he edged further to the edge of his seat.

"And i wasn't alone." his head was in his hands now willing himself to confide in his best friend without remembering in too much detail exactly what had happened.

"Bones did you sleep with the patient that jumped you?" Jims voice was flat, but definitely searching and concerned.

Bones squinted at him in disbelief for a second before scoffing. "Christ no, i didn't sleep with her. It's not her that got transported to my room with me, she was gone before i realised what had happened."

"Shit…" Bones saw everything click into place in Jim's head and realization flash across his features.

"I couldn't stop myself, i don't know if she requested us both to be transported or someone upstairs messed up. But i just… she's not infected but-"

"Bones slow down. Ask yourself these two things right now and answer them both. Was she mad at whatever you did? And did she stop you from going too far?"

"Well no she didn't look pissed…" Leonard stared past Jim as if remembering back before Jim was clicking at him again.

"Bones focus i'm not asking you to remember details i know you're still infected. I take it she stopped you from going too far aswell." Jim was in full captain mode now the voice of authority ringing loud and clear. But Leonard was taking to long to reply.

"Bones.."

"Nothing extreme happened. Just drop it alright." Was he hell telling Jim that he was that far gone she had to physically restrain him to get him to stop completely. He felt awful for it, despite the fact she seemed sympathetic before she left he couldn't help but feel disgusted in himself for forcing himself onto her in such a way. If not more than a little embarrassed at how long it had taken him to get out of the restraints.

"Alright Bones... Ive got a little confession to make myself, and it has to do with Spock walking in on you and Dr Reid... And its not to do with the fact youve been busy." Bones rolled his eyes at the innuendo but listened intently all the same.

* * *

Please leave a review!


	11. Carried away

I dont own star trek so dont sue me please.

Ps, saucy scene somewhere imbetween

* * *

"He did what?!" Leonard practically screamed at his idiot friend who was sat across from him, obviously trying to give him a heart attack.

"Bones calm down i already told him not to worry about it, it's no big deal…" Jim whined face palming slightly at his decision to tell Bones, he should have known he'd react like this.

"Jim, if its no big deal you wouldn't be telling me…" Leonard stroked at the stubble at his chin a deep frown plastered on his face trying to figure out just why Jim told him any of that in the first place. I mean being confused by a different species form of interaction was obviously an innocent thing. But Spock's motives and claiming it as an experiment were definitely suspicious. Then it clicked. Bones raised an accusing eyebrow. "You liked it didn't you."

"Bones c'mon- it wasn't like that, it was a mistake-"

"Jim." The eyebrow raised further towards his hairline as he glared at the flustered blonde.

Jim sighed knowing damn well he wasnt getting out of this without spilling the beans."Yea. That's part of the problem, i finally figure out i've got a thing for Spock, i don't know what type of thing- like i like the guy. And then he goes and does that and its just-"

"I'm gunna stop you right there you have a thing for Spock? not that i'm judging, whatever floats your boat Jimbo, this is just you know really… its been a long day and its only 1 o'clock!"

"Well yea i guess, look i'm sorry Bones i don't know why i said anything apart from to blame you for getting me into that situation." Jim sighed leaning back on the chair hoping he wasn't as red in the face as he felt.

"If you were both affected by it- so help me Jim don't interrupt me this is hard enough to say as it is, and you know goddamn well what i mean by affected- then i better not see you both dancing around the elephant in the room every time i see you together. That'll get annoying real fast, more annoying than accidentally walking in on you and the hobgoblin." Bones ground out his words but jim knew he was being serious. He didn't have a problem with the idea of him and the hobgoblin, he just didn't want them both making it awkward for months before either of them decided to frickin talk about the fact they were obviously at the very least attracted to each other. Though it definitely looked like it was more than that. But Jim was staring at him like his head was the size of a football.

"Are you telling me to try bang Spock?" Leonards facepalm echoed in his quarters as he groaned in frustration. That was most definitely not what he meant.

* * *

It was the third hour of dealing with this wretched pathogen it was certainly getting easier than it had been at the start, and Jim's visit had been a distraction. But there was still 2 hours left until he was completely clear of it all together. He was on his second bottle of alcohol switching to whiskey now for a change and was starting to regret drinking at all since his libido naturally rose a tad when he was drinking. The feeling of frustration and inability to direct his thoughts away from anything inappropriate without distraction were slowly eating away at him, but was he hell giving in to this pathogen and giving it what it wanted. For no other reason than he was Leonard McCoy, he was stubborn like that. The buzz of the alcohol was relaxing him as much as it was adding to his frustration, the tent in his slacks being a massive give away. His brain kept conjuring up images of the fiery red head, half of them not even that inappropriate, like the her figure waltzing down the hallway and the way her hips swayed from side to side, and how he just wanted to drag her into a storage cupboard and press her face first into the wall so she could feel his frustration pressed against her backside. My god man get a hold on yourself.

His comm beeped on the table, this better not be anyone needing him for anything because he wasn't in the right frame of mind to deal with bullshit. Speak of the devil, it was the witch messaging him.

**How you holding up? Also I'm so sorry about this morning, I completely overreacted.**

**-ADR**

**###########**

_Interesting… God it's been one hell of a day._

**I'll be fine only 2 more hours left to wait. And don't worry about it, look i'm sorry as well not just about this morning, but what happened after we got transported."**

**-LHM**

**############**

He did genuinely feel awful about it, and he found himself tapping his foot repeatedly against the floor anxious for a response. He needed to know they were okay. That he hadn't fucked up there working relationship. Or a chance at anything more than that.

**Leonard. Shut up. I'm not having you feeling bad for something you had no control over. You'd just been infected seconds before hand. It's been pretty strange in med bay without you here for so long. Christine has been really worried about you, though she won't admit to that when you're back. X**

**-ADR**

**###########**

**Of course she won't she's worked with me too long to admit to caring now. And look can we just forget that it happened at all?**

**-LHM**

**##########**

**Hell no. You can forget it if you want, but its been a hell of a long time since i've received any attention like that, i don't think i could forget it even if i wanted too. You didn't make it particularly forgettable. It's not gunna mess with our working relationship if that's what you're worried about.**

**-ADR**

**##########**

Out of all the things she could have said that's not something he was expecting. He had no idea how to reply to that. Maybe he'd been over worrying about the whole thing.

**Leonard McCoy speechless for the first time since i've known you. I hope my compliment didn't make you too big headed. Im guessing youve atleast tried to ease the affects?**

**-ADR**

**############**

**My head has definitely grew a little bit. And No, im just letting it run its course.**

**-LHM**

**###########**

**You're kidding? Youve been cooped up for 3 and a half hours and haven't made things easier for yourself at all. Is it because you lack imagination because i know a lot of guys struggle without imagery of some sort.**

**-ADR**

**##########**

_Christ we're really talking about this now._

**I can cope just fine with or without thankyou very much, witch. Why are you so concerned anyhow? Maybe i don't wanna give in to this shitty pathogen.**

**-LHM**

**###########**

**Well i was going to offer to help if you didn't have any imagination but i can see you're just fine being stubborn, as per usual.**

**-ADR**

**###########**

Leonard raised a brow at the message on his pad. I must have done something right because she's definitely not pissed off.  _Fuck_. His fingers skipped over the keys without him really thinking about it and before he'd fully processed his own response he'd hit send.

**What did you have in mind?**

**-LHM**

**###########**

**Wouldn't you like to know ;) let's not get ahead of ourselves Doctor, you can atleast take me to dinner first.**

**-ADR**

**############**

**Do you normally take men to bed before the first date or am i an outlier here? But once we get off this god forsaken ship you bet your ass i'm taking you to dinner.**

**-LHM**

**############**

**You're definitely an outlier. Also hey i need your opinion on something, do you think this is okay for heading to the gym after my shift.**

**-ADR**

**#############**

_Holy hell…_

Those were the shortest short shorts he'd ever seen… More to the point they were skin tight clinging to the curve of her hips and her ass framing it perfectly. There's no way in hell that outfit is appropriate for gym unless she wants to have every guy in there gawking at her. The sports bra and sports short shorts combo was over kill and Leonard felt something stir below his waist. Another mirror selfie, perfectly teasing, her body twisted slightly to give the perfect view of her well sculpted behind, and those legs that seemed insanely long with thighs he wanted to dig his nails into. Without thinking he ran his hand down to his lap and palmed himself lightly through his trousers, a small groan escaping him at the delicious friction. She had definatley done that on purpose. Not just because she'd gotten to know what he was like but by the way she was looking right at him in the photo through thick lashes and heavy lids. Blood continued to rush south as Leonard inwardly cursed at himself, the pathogen and her in turn. But by god if he didn't need this right now.

_God damn it_

**You wouldn't make it out alive sweetheart.**

**-LHM**

**###########**

The lighting in his room was suddenly yellow as Jims voice sounded through the ship wide intercom and Leonard felt his stomach churn. Something was wrong.

"This is your captain speaking, i want everyone to be on guard we are currently approaching a small vulcan travel vessel that seems to be drifting with only emergency power, no sign of damage on the outside. Right now our main priority is seeing if there is any survivors on board. Dr McCoy, Dr Reid please report to the bridge. Kirk out."

Leonard threw on his uniform in a flash not even paying mind to the pathogen that was still lingering in his system. Heading straight up to the bridge, as the turbolift doors began to close he saw spock striding down the corridor. Something seemed off, he looked like he was frowning. In concern or confusion he couldn't tell, he wasn't like Jim he didn't have the pointy eared gremlins every gesture translated in his head. He reached out and stopped the doors from closing forcing them open so the vulcan could get in. He gave a nod to Spock before letting the doors shut as Spock pressed the button to head for the bridge. He couldn't stop himself from fidgeting slightly next to Spock's stiff but perfect posture. Sparing the vulcan a glance just as Spock did the same to him.

"So errr, you okay Spock?" Leonard coughed, subconsciously flattening out his uniform suddenly feeling very out of place with his threw on uniform next to Spock's perfectly pressed one.

"I am adequate doctor. Though it is not like you to engage in small talk Leonard i feel there is another reason for this line of questioning." Spock raised a brow towards the gruff looking man to his right. Noting that the doctor was in need of a shave.

Leonard snickered in response rolling his eyes slightly as he folded one arm over his chest and brought the other up to his chin. "I meant with it being a vulcan ship out there, now don't go mistaking me for caring Spock but I'm a doctor, and something seems slightly off with you."

Spock turned back to facing the lift's doors with a completely blank face. "I appreciate your concern Leonard, but i am fine." his eyes dropped for a second before he snapped his head back up as the turbolift opened onto the bridge.

"Spock, Bones, good now everyone's here. Uhura, hail them." If they'd had been low on life support Jim wouldn't have bothered but they were good for that for now. He wanted to atleast give them some warning before energising the three life forms detected on the vessel.

Bones glanced over to the redhead stood on the opposite side of the bridge behind spock and his station, she seemed relatively relaxed despite the hectic day they'd had. Hair up in a loose bun, uniform un creased and… a rather noticeable purple love bite peeking its way out of the collar of her uniform shirt. Well hopefully it wasn't that noticeable. It wasn't fully on show or anything. Not even a quarter of it was on show but now he'd spotted it he couldn't help but notice it, or help the possessive feeling that washed over him at the sight of it.

_Damn pathogen needs to get gone already._

His attention was re directed to Jim as the screen in front of them filled with the image of a tall vulcan, couldn't have been that much older than Spock, the usual dark hair in the standard cut if not a bit overgrown than usual. Unlike Spock and his slim face, the vulcan on screen had a slightly wider set square jaw with prominent cheekbones and a 5 o'clock shadow, the usual high pointed brows but with what looked like grey eyes, they were piercing and cold in the way they looked out at the enterprise crew, as if no emotion had ever passed through them. If not for the pointy ears, crazy eyebrows and bowl cut he could probably pass as a quite attractive human male, in a creepy and mysterious way. Obviously Leonard didn't swing that way but give credit where it's due was his motto… well, when he felt like it.

All of the other vulcans hed met apart from spock all seemed very average looking, made it all the more unsettling whenever he clocked an attractive vulcan woman in yorktown. A couple of very awkward encounters that he'd rather not talk about. Jim had finished stating his rank, the ship, and offering assistance by now. Now Spock was talking, something about wanting to know what had happened to their ship as it is very unlikely that it simply malfunctioned. Long story short they were going to be beamed aboard.

Looking over at Alex he saw that she'd straightened up slightly. She looked much more alert now, maybe too alert and still? She wasnt even looking directly at the screen? Leonard frowned to himself as he turned back to the screen.

"Im sorry i didn't catch your names" Jim spoke, usual fake grin in place.

"This is my son Sirok, my wife Asil, and my name captain, is Torin." though his voice was flat before he made even more of an effort to keep it completely emotionless in that oh so vulcan manner that did nothing to help Leonards rage as it bubbled to the forefront of his mind. He glanced back over at Dr Reid as the hail cut off and saw her let out a breath she probably didn't know she was holding. Fortunately for her Leonard didn't think Torin had seen her stood behind Spock. She still looked tense as she glanced his way his frown obviously not very subtle on his face as she gave him a small defeated shrug of her shoulders and an expression that just read 'what can i do about it?' She wasn't going to refuse him treatment and he wouldn't expect her too, but looking them over was going to be a pain in the ass as it is.

"That kid is old enough to talk right or it's going to be a pain in the ass to treat him for any possible injuries." Bones questioned trying his best to distract from the things he knew about the man they were about to bring on board and not let it stop him from doing his job.

"Vulcan children tend to learn to speak a lot faster than human offspring. Though he is at the most 4 years old he is likely fluent in vulcan and federation standard." Spocks reply came swiftly as the four of them headed into the turbolift.

Leonard gave her arm a gentle squeeze when he was sure spock and Jim were distracted, he just hoped that he wouldn't cause a scene. Or Torin wouldn't, vulcans and there damn dramatics sometimes.

"Depending on the length of their stay this may be the ample opportunity for you Dr Reid. As humans would put it, to 'brush up' on your grasp of the vulcan language." Spock spoke sincerely as he turned to look at the smaller doctor. Not noticing the shift in atmosphere in the lift at all, unlike Jim who turned to Bones immediately feeling the tension like a noose tightening around his neck.

"I believe my Vulcan is sufficient commander, if i were to wish to brush up on it i'd rather come to you with that request." Alexs voice was void of any signs of anger but it was also flat. Something she really probably didn't realise gave her away completely when she was in anything other than a good mood. Leonard scowled towards the turbolift doors praying for them to open before the angry pixie next to him decided to self destruct and take all three of them with her.

"Is there a problem doctor? You do not seem enthusiastic about our new guests in the slightest." Spock frowned in confusion only now picking up on the tense atmosphere. Leonard could see the cogs turning in Jim's head as he stared a hole into the turbolift wall trying to put together what the hell was going on or could be the problem in that big brain of his. The realisation wasn't instant. It was slow, churned out clunkily and even then he had to turn to glance at Bones before he confirmed his theory to be right.

"No problem at all commander, i just believe i've already learned all i can from Torin and would prefer to come to you if i felt the need to brush up on the vulcan language." The tension in her shoulders eased slightly which made Leonard raise a brow. Was she panicked? Going to be civil with the pointy eared little shit? Has she accepted it all and over it, was her little breakdown just a moment of weakness the other day from all the stress? The gears in his head were turning so fast trying to answer all the questions at once. He hadn't realised before just how unpredictable she could be. Or how little he knew about the situation with her and the grey eyed vulcan. He'd have to keep watch of that bastard from a distance for now. He didnt know enough about Alex or the situation to pass a fair judgment, though he could already tell the guy was a bastard. But then again so was Spock at times.  _And Jim… Christ Jim dont go asking about-_

"Hold up you know him? How? He's the Vulcan from that hot chocolate story isn't he?!" Jim chimed suddenly full of excitement. Leonard groaned, massaging the bridge of his nose as his frown got deeper. Why Jim got excited over drama he'd never know. Spock looked like he was close to clicking on to the actual reason behind the tension with that one pointed brow raised high up into his hairline as he glanced over at the disgruntled McCoy.

"Patient confidentiality captain, but yes i do know him, I'm still yet to be acquainted with his wife and child however." Her tone would have been more human if it was cold and had a hint of anger in it but it lacked so much energy and emotion Leonard wasn't sure what was going to happen.

"I trust despite any previous relationship you shared with Torin you will remain professional during their stay Doctor?" Spock dropping bombs yet again. Leonard held his breath and the excitement and giddiness from Jim seemed to reel back a bit at the very blunt question.

"Spock of course she will, we're all adults here."  _Spock seriously needs to learn how to talk to women… wait what am i saying. It's better if he doesn't._

"Yes commander of course, i didn't plan on being anything but professional."

Spock nodded slowly before squinting slightly down at the woman, confusing both Leonard and Jim with this action. "Doctor you appear to have some bruising on your neck." Jim spun around to face the redhead with a squint of his own as he looked for said bruises, knowing almost as soon as he saw them what they were. He couldn't help but laugh. Especially since Bones was experiencing a sudden tightness around the collar clearing his throat alot more than necessary and frowning directly at the elevator doors as if trying to burn a hole in them big enough for him to escape through.

"Is something funny Captain?" Spock raised a brow.

"Have you never had a love bite before commander? I find that somewhat hard to believe." her voice softened with a hint of unsavoury humour lacing it.

"I am unfamiliar with the term."

"I'll take that as a no, hmm that's a shame. I'm sure there'd be a lot of crew members willing to demonstrate if you wanted to learn about it further." Leonard clenched his fists at the sound of her voice and the slight purr in it as a shiver shot down his spine. He forgot for a second the pathogen was still in his system.

"She's messing with you Spock. Don't go asking crew members to demonstrate, just don't i'm not prepared to fill in the paperwork after you nerve pinch them." Leonard growled, he was all for messing with the hobgoblin, but not when it risked him having to do more paperwork than he already had to.

"You know what these markings were caused by Leonard?"

Leonard looked down at the trail of hickies he'd left on the side of her neck. Feeling that same possessiveness as hed felt on the bridge before looking up slightly to gentle but mischievous green eyes that were looking right at him letting him know he could do it again if he wanted to. "Yea i do, that'd be me." Leonard's eyes snapped up to Spock's as he seemed to click on to the connotations of the reasons behind the marks. "But if you're looking for a demonstration you've got the wrong guy."

With that the lift doors finally opened after what seemed like a century Leonard was the first out, heading to medbay at such speed with pent up frustration in each step. Not realising the redhead was hot on his heels trying to keep up with his maddening pace. Once the medbay was in sight he slowed down slightly, letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

_Why am i so stressed and frustrated? Stupid question to ask yourself you know exactly why, that damn sultry pixie has got me all turned around not to mention this damn pathogen! If i could stop thinking about the sound she made when i- god fucking damn it. And now this Jim and Spock situation, and the grey eyed pointy bastard about to be beamed aboard. Yea there's the reasons why you're messed up you idiot. After this shift i'm drinking the rest of my bourbon and going to bed, so help anyone who tries to stop me._

Before he could finish his trail of thought he felt a hand grasp at his wrist before he was practically thrown into a storage closet and pushed back against a shelving unit. The light may aswell have completely stopped working from all the help it was in the darkness, emitting what could only be compared to candle light. Fear momentarily shot through him as his eyes struggled to adjust to the dim lighting. Someone or something was stroking the side of his face and he had no idea what to do.

The realisation hit him almost the same time her perfume did, followed by soft lips just brushing past his own. Time slowed down then, and Leonard felt all the tension leave his body as his eyes closed. A small sigh leaving his lips as soft lips returned, pressing tenderly against his own. One hand came up to cup her cheek as he drew her closer to him, mouths moving agonisingly slow, like they were trying to savour the moment. Not wanting to break the spell or delve further knowing full well they wouldn't be able to stop themselves if they did.

There was no exploring of the others mouth, yet it was the most intimate kiss either of them had ever had. There was a warmth spreading out from Leonard's chest as her hands rested against it. One hand winding its way up into his hair, massaging his scalp to start with before her palm balled up into a fist, the gentle tug of his hair sent sparks down his spine and heat shooting south as he groaned into her mouth. Pressing forward till she was pressed against another shelving unit, his tongue grazed her bottom lip begging for entry, the hand that had originally been cupping her cheek was tangled in auburn curls as he wiggled her hair skillfully out of the bobble it was held up in, the other holding onto the shelf above her head for dear life. Her lips curved upwards in a smile as she let out a small involuntary whimper.

Leonard chuckled and pulled back slightly lightly resting his forehead against hers and letting out a shaky sigh, a smirk playing on his lips as he looked up into green eyes swirling with emotion. "Of course you're not gonna let me in first time."

"Leonard, if I'd have let you we would have never left this cupboard. Are you feeling a little more relaxed now?" Her thumb grazed over his stubble lovingly as her eyes dropped back to his lips, he hummed in response, a smile formed as she remembered how he'd stunned Spock into an awkward silence in the lift. "You know Spock doesn't want to know every detail of what we get up to right? Though i'd pay to see that look on his face again."

"Its one of my favorite things to do. Messing with the holLgoblin that is, not that i didn't enjoy giving you those hickeys." He felt like his blood was boiling under his skin, it was so damn hot in the cupboard and his one hand was rubbing circles into the small of her back teetering on the edge of going slightly too low to be appropriate. His accent was alot thicker than usual and hoarse as he spoke which was having a somewhat inappropriate affect on the doctor opposite him, who hadn't spoken in awhile. "What're you looking at me like that for witch?" still oblivious to what his deep grumble was doing to her he saw something change in her eyes before he leaned down to place a peck on her lips. What he wasn't expecting was those soft lips to part and nip gently at his lower lip.

He could hear himself groan into her mouth before he pushed a leg between hers, he caught the gasp she made with a kiss as his thigh pushed up against her making her uniform dress ride up slightly. Adding slightly more pressure with his thigh he brushed his tongue over her bottom lip again, this time she let him in. There tongues met in a heated tangle as the hand that was on the small of her back immediately made a grab for a perfectly rounded behind, a fleeting worry about the pathogen still being in his system crossed his mind but it was gone as quickly as it came when he felt her grind down onto his leg, the blood flow to his brain was momentarily cut off as it all pooled at his groin. Teeth were clashing as they continued to explore the others mouth, leonard swallowing every little noise she made greedily.

All of a sudden her hands weren't in his hair, he wouldn't have thought anything of it if it weren't for one hand finding its way directly to the front of his tented pants and the base to tip stroke of his cock she did, the pressure had him delirious but the sound she made when she felt him there... The breathy moan of his name and his eyes shot open and he pulled away, every fiber in his body protesting as he took a step back breathing heavily as he flattened himself against the shelf behind him. He could feel his dick pulsing against the confines of his trousers. He looked up to see a gorgeously disheveled red head, her lips were slightly swollen and panting. Confusion flashed across her face before she could try to hide it.

"I-m sorry, i got a bit carried away.-"

"You and me both, shut up apologising that's not why i pulled away." Leonard half growled as he tried to regain his composure. He wasn't having her thinking that shed done something wrong this wasn't on either of them. A small frown formed on her face.

"Then why did you?"

"We are not fucking in a storage cupboard." There was a brief silence only filled with ragged breaths before Leonard continued. "Least not for the first time, i- ah" Leonard frowned down at his crotch as he tried to rearrange himself so it didn't feel so uncomfortable. "I didn't want to stop i won't lie, but i'd actually prefer being able to see you if we're talking about heavy petting here."

Alex smirked as her eyes raked over the ravished man infront of her in the dim lighting provided. "I'd prefer to see you as well, i don't know why i let this happen i just couldn't stop myself from being greedy, the kiss was meant to calm you down and reassure you not get you- our blood pumping." Alex wafted a hand infront of her face in an effort to cool off.

"Reassure me of what?" Bones frowned slightly watching as she tugged her dress back down.

"That I'm not just doing this for a quick fling, though i've been giving off way too strong signals towards that and been really inappropriate, i do really like you Leonard.. " a blush appeared as she looked down at the ground somewhat embarrassed. "Quite a lot actually if you couldn't already tell."

The frown disappeared instantly replaced with the most genuine smile alex had ever seen on the older man's face as he stepped forward and lifted her chin up gently. "I like you too pointy, i wouldn't be agreeing to spend all this free time with you if I didn't, would i?"

"Dont call me pointy!" She frowned at him in disapproval as he laughed.

"That's the Alex i know now cmon we gotta go make your ex boyfriend's life hell, you think vulcans sense of smell is as good as their hearing?" Leonard chuckled as he was slapped on the arm, putting on his serious cmo face before he stepped out of the cupboard with his co worker. They turned a couple of heads but luckily the corridor wasn't too crowded. He turned to glance at Alex on his right seeing her carrying a small metal box. He stepped slightly closer and whispered in her direction.

"The hell is that for?"

"To make it look like we were in that cupboard for a reason that wasn't a quick fuck. I don't even know what's in the box, i'll put it in your office when we get to medbay."

Leonard raised a brow at her. "Ah quick thinking, rumours spread like wildfire on this ship."

Alexs gut twisted as they approached med bay but she forced the apprehension back as she looked up at Leonard. Recalling for a split second the electricity that she felt when they kissed and just how delicious his thigh felt between her legs, she can't believe they'd just done that. It made her feel like a teenager again it was ridiculous, she didn't feel bad about doing it, it was more of a naughty heady feeling that had heat pooling between her legs in anticipation. Shed have to save those thoughts for when she wasn't at work.

"Its a good job you weren't infected with the pathogen anymore isnt it or we'd still be in that cupboard." Leonard turned in momentary shock before relief flashed across his features.

"Shit you're right, that could of ended badly."

"I wouldn't call it a bad ending."

"You're right. I suppose a bad ending would be getting caught in the middle of something because of how loud you are."

Alex blushed deep crimson "I wasnt that loud!" She hissed quietly.

Leonard cocked an eyebrow cheekily "Not for the most part no you did well, but next time we're in a supply cupboard and you're moaning my name you'll have to keep it quiet and less needy."

Alex wasn't quite prepared for how blunt and dirty mouthed Leonard was currently being so folded her arms in protest. "Less needy?"

Leonard stopped them just outside the med bay and turned to face her, eyes sparkling with mischief and a smug smirk in place. Leaning in close he let out a hot breath on the shell of her ear. "Next time you moan like that ill be bending you over the nearest table." And with that Leonard strolled proudly into the medbay. Leaving behind a rather flustered red head as she followed hastily behind. Avoiding the the eyebrow raise and questioning stare from a certain science officer who had cleary overheard part of their conversation.

* * *

She hadnt noticed walking past her captain and commander the vulcan family stood further behind. Not until one of them spoke, the smoothness of his words unmistakable, but the surprise apparent in his tone didn't go unnoticed.

"Alex?"

Standing next to Spock Jim could see everything unfold and he was analysing all the minute details of the scene before him. Not missing the way Bones tensed up behind Alex while he prepped a bio bed, or the confused glance at Torin from his wife.

"How rude of me not to introduce you to our medical staff, this is Dr Reid and our chief medical officer Dr Mccoy, im sure nurse Chapel will be around here somewhere aswell. They'll be able to give you a health checkup before we show you to your quarters." Jim kept his winning smile and the look Alex gave him as she turned around he knew she appreciated the positive attitude he was sporting, and his attempt at easing the tension.

"A checkup won't be necessary captain there is nothing that can't be righted by rest and meditation." Torins calm exterior stayed firmly in place but his words showed his apprehension.

"All three of you look malnourished, sorry but it's mandatory. Go sit on one of the prepped beds and one of us will be with you shortly, now, Sirok wasn't it? You wanna hop onto this bed for me?" Alex was the personification of calm as she handled the situation, keeping herself grounded on Leonards voice as he politely asked Asil to come over to a biobed hed just prepped with his slight hint of southern drawl.

Sirok Looked to his father, then to his mother who gave him a curt nod and calmly walked over to the biobed before realising he wasnt tall enough to pull himself up. Alex gave him a wink before using her foot to push the little metal box she'd brought from the cupboard across the floor till it was at his feet. Looking down as the item was pushed across to him he stepped onto it, pulling himself up onto the biobed with grace no human child would have.

"Thankyou doctor."

"Don't mention it, everyone can use a helping hand now and again right?"

"Helping hand?"

"Its a metaphor, if you use it in the phrase i just said it means it's just nice to be nice. If you can offer help someone, instead of watching someone struggle, then do it."

"I see." Grey eyes looked down at his feet dangling off the side of the bed.

"How old are you Sirok?" Alex asked nonchalantly as she traced her tricorder around the smaller frame focusing on the readings it was giving her with a slight frown.

"Im 4 earth years old."

Alex zoned out for a second at his reply "its been that long…" she murmured to herself before putting her tricorder away and taking out another piece of equipment.

"Its been 4 years since you saw my father?"

Alex wasnt surprised that he caught in to her slip up, the kid was smart as well as polite. "You don't miss a beat do you, sorry another metaphor. You're very observant. But yea, you're right almost, its more like 5 years now though."

"I've seen you before. How do you know my father Alex?" The curious eyes were innocent enough but Alex was stunned at the childs words. How could he have seen her before? He wasn't even alive when they were together it was impossible.

"I think that's something you better hear from your dad, and im sorry but how have yo-" Alex stopped dead as a hand suddenly rested on her shoulder.

"Thats enough Sirok, your checkup is finished now you may accompany your mother to our quarters." Alex stayed silent giving the kid a gentle smile and a nod as he slid of the bed and followed his mother out of the med bay, looking back with trained curiosity before the doors finally shut as they were led away by commander Spock.

"Get your hand off me right now." The hand lifted instantly as Alex spun around to face the all too familiar vulcan infront of her. She wasn't even attempting to hide the frown on her face or the anger behind it.

"I see that now my son and wife have left you have no problem with making a scene." The condesending tone didnt help calm her down in the slightest.

"Don't touch me. Yes i'll treat you while you're here and look after your family, that's my job its what i do, but don't you dare think you can touch me like its nothing." Alex spat hurt, anger and pain all spiraling round her mind, fists clenched around the tools in her hand. Honestly, she wanted to hit him. She wanted to hurt him like he hurt her. But she didn't hurt people. She healed people. She fixed them. She could here movement on the biobed close behind her and could only assume it was Leonard keeping close by but not interfering.

"Alex...i never expected to see you again after i left."

"I suppose you really did send that invite to spite me then huh? That was low even for you."

"Invite? I dont understand." A small frown formed under overgrown bangs as he stepped forward.

"You can't be seriously playing dumb, the invite to your ceremony the entire reason you left in the first place."

"I sent no invite Alex, i would never wish to cause you more emotional suffering than what you would have already been going through."

"Liar." Alex hissed quietly. Taking a step towards the taller man.

A hand snaked around her wrist gently giving it a tug back and away from the vulcan in front of her "Hey, easy now." Leonard whispered looking back and forth between the pair feeling the anger rolling off the redhead in waves.

Torin eyed the small gesture, sparing Leonard a suspicious glance before re focusing his attention on the fiery red head in front of him "Vulcans do not lie."

"Well it's a good job you're a coward and not a Vulcan then. Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you."

Leonard had only ever seen one vulcan lose his cool and that was Spock, but he saw how deep that insult cut when anger flashed across grey eyes and one twitched uncontrollably before he regained composure. He reached a hand out as Alex walked away to see to other patients and was about to start talking again before Leonard stopped him in his tracks.

"Whatever you need to say to her it can wait. Its gonna have to wait." Leonard put a hand out to stop the vulcan from trying to take a step forward, the air of authority in his voice made Torin pause and consider the man with a scrutinized gaze.

"As i see you seem to have some form of bond with her doctor i can only wish you good luck." There was a dark humour in his voice like he knew something leonard didn't.

"I trust that there will be no further problems with you and my medical staff Torin? Though you are a guest here id prefer it if you didn't put my staff under any more unnecessary stress, they already have a lot to deal with as it is." Jim had an air of authority and respect surrounding him as he stepped into the space between Bones and the stranger. His expression was stern but fair, yet soft enough to still be seen as being hospitable. It was the underlying attitude of "dont fuck with my crew" that was most prominent however and Torin did a small bow of his head towards Jim.

"I apologise captain, it won't happen again, it wasn't my intention to cause any distress." and with that Torin turned and walked out of the med bay as casually as he'd walked in. There was a very strange tension in the air and Jim didnt like it, it wasnt the kind that you could cut it was the kind that swarmed around you anf generally had a nasty smell, like trying to fart discretely only for the smell to follow as you walked away. And this stunk,whatever it was it needed solving and asap.

* * *

"Alright Bones care to tell me what the hell is going on here this is something more than awkward encounter with an ex." Jim frowned deep leaning in close to bones who was looking tired again and quite pissed.

"I cant say anything Jim but Alex might be able to tell you about it."

Both men turned to look for the red head, immediately finding her very uncharacteristically fumbling around the med bay, almost bumping into Nurse Chapel and then leaning on a bio bed only to spring off it as it started beeping frantically as it picked up on her rapid heart beat. Jim looked over to Bones as they shared a worried glance as they watch her dart into leonards office. Walking through the confused staff Jim offered a reassuring smile before they got to the door they had nurse Chapel stood in front of them blocking their entrance.

"Now boys, if you're going to go in there and make her worse than she already is then you'll have me to deal with, hear me? Now i dont have the details on why, but that's a panic attack right there. Stress is only going to make it worse so… just take it easy fellas." Chapel bowed her head to the floor with a soft sigh as she stepped out the way. Looking up when Jim put his hand on her shoulder.

"Im not here to reprimand her about anything i just wanna know what's going on, she's gunna be fine Chris." Jim smiled warmly at the head nurse. God he loved Christine for the hardy but ever caring woman that she was even if she was 50 something years old, she didn't take shit from anyone, not even Jim. Heading through the doors they spotted her immediately sat rigid in Leonard's desk chair staring blankly at the desk fingers interlocked tightly resting on the desk in front of her with white knuckles. It weirdly reminded him of spock when he was silently struggling with something or working something out in his head.

"I'm sorry that won't happen again captain." The words were almost robotic as they left her mouth her eyes were un moving.

Leonard sighed, frown being replaced with a look of frustrated sadness. Jim could tell he knew exactly what the situation was but he had a hunch Bones didnt know the finer details, which was okay Jim didnt need to know any fine details just the general summed up situation.

"Relax Alex i'm not here to pull you up on your behaviour i just want to know what's going on. Why some Vulcan has got one of the most level headed women on the ship all turned around." Jim sat on the edge of the desk as Bones quietly scanned her, his frown deepening.

"I'm fine, honestly-"

"The hell you are, you're still suffering from elevated heart rate and all the other symptoms of an anxiety attack. Here-" Alex hissed as Leonard jabbed a hypospray in the side of her neck.

"You could have picked a better place to hypo spray me, prick." Her voice came out high pitched from the shock of the stinging sensation against her already bruised neck. Though she missed the chuckle from Jim as he slyly put his hand over his mouth.

"You're definitely feeling better you're even throwing insults around again. But um yea sorry about jabbing it in ya neck sweetheart." Bones grimaced looking at the bruise hed just jabbed a hypo into before turning away to one of his shelves to put some of his equipment away.

"He used to hit me." Leonard stilled across the room as the words were finally out in the open. Blood slowly boiling as she continued to talk. "It wasn't a regular thing, ive never been entirely sure why he did it. It was never beatings either i don't know why i reacted this badly over him." Alex sighed avoiding eye contact with either man as they both listened intently, Leonard could see the anger growing behind Jims bright blue eyes as she continued. " He didn't hate the fact i was human, though he would have preferred it if i was Vulcan. He was unstable, he wouldn't let me do any tests at first but i knew it wasn't normal. He'd hit me over stupid things, like the fact id have men staring at me if i wore something too revealing, but then other times he was completely unphased and couldn't care less. He used to lock himself away for days afterwards meditating because he didn't understand why he was doing it, he felt like he was losing control of his emotions over such illogical things, he'd apologise profusely and do everything to make it up to me. Saying He was certain that he'd purged whatever was destroying his control. Until he finally let me do some tests, after the 5th time, yea it didnt happen all that often for 2 years but the last time he managed to knock me out cold."

Alex stood up from her chair and started pacing around the room "yea i did some tests and scans nd it turns out he had this cyst growing over his left temporal lobe, which as any doctor knows are linked in with violent behaviour and outbursts. He wouldn't let me take it out, saying I'd been through enough he'd get it removed by someone else. I woke up next morning and he was gone." there was a finality to her words as she stopped pacing and finally looked up at the two men in the room.

"Well i wasn't expecting that." Leonard thumped down in his desk chair chewing lightly on the inside of his cheek in thought.

"Where did he go?" Jim questioned anger only slightly abated.

"To new Vulcan, I'm pretty sure he was engaged for most of the time he was with me, i don't know the vulcan word for it but he definitely had a someone back home waiting, because a week after he left i got sent that ceremony invitation. Which he's just denied sending. It cant have been his wife either because she had no idea who i was, you saw her shifting very slightly like she was uncomfortable before she got examined right? Pretty sure he blocked their mind link for a while, may even still be doing it now." it was a very strange path they'd came down in this discussion and Alex's emotions were running rampant in her mind as she tried to keep a clear head, she had no idea why she was spilling all this information, it felt a bit like an overshare on her part but she felt a strong bond of trust forming with the two men in the room, one fresh bond growing with her captain and the other bond very much there but being reinforced.

"So his wife has no idea who you are? Are vulcans capable of flipping out when they find out they've been cheated on?" Jim questioned pacing the room himself now.

"I honestly don't know." it was one thing she'd never thought about and quite selfishly so as well. She'd been so obsessed with her own sorrow that she hadn't thought about the wife at all, how it would hurt if she didn't already know the history between them and when it was happening.

"Has he had this thing removed?" Leonard frowned deeply at the pair from his desk as if they were stupid to not be asking the most important question.

"Well it seems that way there were no physical signs on his kid was there any on his wife? They didn't seem apprehensive of him either." Alex speculated quietly.

"No, no bruising on the wife or signs of past injuries. Scans on him seemed clear aswell according to Chris." Leonard grumbled his nerves calming down slightly.

"I completely overreacted, i'm such an asshole. I cant believe ive turned this into a massive ordeal when he's completely fine now." Alex put her head in her hands and sighed loudly. "Im so sorry-"

"Stop right there i know exactly what you're about to say. Just because he had a cyst that was causing him to be violent does not mean that what he did is excusable. So help me women if i hear you protest one bit-"

"That's not what i mean, i started all this...i never forgave him for leaving and finding out he was engaged, i've never forgave him for hitting me either but i reacted horrendously to such a small gesture-"

"No Bones is right here, you didn't react badly. You reacted how anybody else would react being put in that position. Bones, if a domestic abuse patient was faced with their abuser and their abuser, no matter how innocently touched them, say rested their hand on their shoulder how would the patient likely react?"

"Could be a mixture of fight or flight going from hostility, to fear, anxiety spikes, a probable panic attack. Obvious anger at how they were treated but in most cases a need to get as far away from the person as possible, normally going some place they feel safe…"

Leonard looked over at Alex who stiffened up at being diagnosed in such an open manner especially since her captain was in the room helping Leonard pick apart her every action in the past 10 minutes.

"I don't know how to respond to that." She choked out awkwardly.

"You don't have too, look Doc, these are things that i need to know. Well being of my crew is number one on my list of priorities but i can't do anything unless i know what's going on." Jim was in full captain mode again and was gesturing wildly with his hands as he spoke.

"Yes captain."

"And hey, not speaking as your captain here. This is your family now, i just so happen to like you, probably not as much as Bones but hey im sure you already knew that." Jim winked then cocked his head curiously at the smirk she pulled. "Oh oh what's that, something you're not telling me Bones?" Playfulness returned to his voice as he cocked an accusing eyebrow towards his friend.

Bones stood up and rolled his eyes, "yea there's plenty i'm not telling you." following Alex towards his office door he swatted at her ass lightly to get her to speed up as she left the office making her turn slightly as she walked with a raised brow and a look meant only for Leonard.

"Did you just?..." Jim paused for a moment as the pair carried on in front of him causing Leonard to turn back and grab his arm dragging him lightly out of the med bay.

"There's a lot you don't know jimbo just be glad i aint sharing the details."

Jim had only just spoke to Leonard hours beforehand what could possibly have happened in the time in between? They hadn't been apart at all until they'd split off… they'd split off. Whatever happened cant have taken up to much time. But how were they late to med bay? Me and spock arrived well before they did how the- we had to detour to the transporter room and they had a straight path to med bay. Where the hell did they go?!

Jim squinted his eyes at the pair slightly ahead of him he didn't have a clue why he was so intent on finding out this info. Hell he didn't actually want to know the details but a part of him did, he wanted to know how Bones was feeling with everything. What had happened, had they even kissed yet he had so many questions but never the time to sit and talk to his friend about it. I mean sure they'd spoken in passing when he was infected in his quarters but it wasn't the same. They hadn't had a drink in a while. Just the two of them sharing a bottle and wasting the night away, over sharing and spilling some of their darkest moments to each other. People knew the captain and cmo were friends it was obvious, but nobody knew how close they were even if they didnt appear to be. Jim knew everything about Leonard and Leonard knew almost everything about Jim, even if they both had unhealthy coping mechanisms and had to be drinking to talk about certain things. It's just how things were between them.

Jim was pulled from his train of thought as time slowed in front of him, lagging behind them by quite a bit now he'd been staring at their backs for a good couple of minutes while lost in thought. He could see Leonards expression from the side as he turned listening intently to the redhead next to him as they walked, his expression was soft as they spoke, everytime she smiled or grinned in his direction there'd be a tug at the corner of his lips, sometimes accompanied by a full fledged and full of warmth smile which was a rarity in itself. But what really threw Jim for a loop wasn't any of that. It was hearing his friend laugh, over small things, over joking insults directed at him from a bundle of auburn curls. It was the way his eyes had lit up because he thought nobody else was looking and the way his fingertips ghosted across her back before resting on her hip and pulling her closer for a split second to say something into her ear, how his hand didn't want to lose contact just yet so it rested on the small of her back as he continued to grin.

In that moment that lasted brief seconds Jim knew what was happening, he could feel the energy around them he could see it happening with his own eyes. Now it wasn't like how love is described in books, there was no dramatic kiss in the rain, no romantic music playing gently in the background. There was just the gentle hum of the ship and the way their eyes met, Jim could see the spark. But most importantly he could see a spark behind brown eyes that he hadn't seen in years, and that spark would undoubtedly turn into a flame. Bones cared to much for it not to. He knew in those small moments that he wasn't even a passing thought in either of their minds but he didn't care, they were happy. And it was one of the most precious things he'd seen in a long time.


	12. Hot and cold

I wasnt expecting this to get so many voews so quickly if im honest. So whoever has read, left kudos! Or bookmarked/subscribed thankyou so much it means alot!

* * *

 

Everything had went amazing this morning he'd rolled out of bed feeling fully rested for once, received new orders from starfleet and everyone seemed to be in an amazing mood. The usual gossip flying round on the bridge before everyone settled into their routine for the day. That was until he'd had the amazing idea to beam aboard this new class m planet, which by the way, was a complete barren cold wasteland of ice and snow, with no other than his first officer and two of the ships doctors. Of course he'd wanted to lead the landing party, of course it consisted of at least two of his most high ranking and important officers. And  _of course_  they'd been forced into a small cave made almost entirely out of ice by the oncoming storm about to hit which just so happened to cause the only accessible entrance to collapse and trap them. He really needed to start considering getting a lucky charm to take with him on missions.

"Im sorry captain i canny do anything the storm isn't just bad weather its an ion storm nd it's messing with the transporters targeting capabilities, we can't get a reading of your life forms. You're just not there!" Scottys flustered voice sounded down the com as Jim squeezed his eyes shut pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. Letting out a disgruntled sigh opened his eyes looking at the three people infront of him. All waiting on him to tell then the plan.

"Alright scotty can you predict how long this storm is going to last, were trapped in here with little to no supplies and no way out. The only thing we actually have is a sleeping bag each because Chapel insisted they could double up as extra coats."

There was a long pause over the line and some static as the storm got stronger and started affecting there coms. "Scotty are you there?"

"I won't lie to ya Jim you're gonna need those sleeping bags, the temperatures dropping on the planet's surface as the sun sets you'll be looking at temperatures of -89 Celsius during the night. I don't even know if you're own body heats gunna keep you from freezin to death at those type of temperatures, can ya join the sleepin' bags up that could help?"

"I'll have to get back to you on that scotty we're gunna be out of light soon. Kirk out."

Jim turned back to the trio stood stiffly near what used to be the caves entrance. Despite it being made out of ice it wasn't too damp and the low ceiling and certain walls let some dim light through, but soon they'd be plunged into complete darkness. All but spock had a light dusting of red in their cheeks from the wind outside, spock sporting positively green cheeks and nose, oddly making the vulcan look endearing underneath that huge hood of his.

"Alright first things first, we've got torches we're gonna need them soon. The storms gunna keep us here for about three days guys, im sorry there's nothing we can do but wait." Jim let his arms thud at his sides as he shrugged his shoulders, swinging his backpack off his shoulders and onto the ground he started untying the sleeping bag from the top. After a couple of minutes raking through his bag seeing what supplies he had he realised none of them had said a word, not even complained or questioned it. Which when you've been around Leonard McCoy and Spock for so long was very suspicious. Whipping around he saw them all doing the same thing he was, spock in particular had figured out something Jim hadn't and started zipping the sleeping bags together. "Spock what are you doing?"

"If we are stuck here for days it is essential that we preserve body heat to ensure our own survival." Spock said matter of factly as if it wasn't a big deal at all possibly having to sleep in such close proximity to three other people when he hated physical contact for the most part.

"Well yea Spock i know that but you're joining all the sleeping bags together."Jim walked over surveying the work so far wondering how the hell they'd gotten themselves into this situation.

"Sorry to break it to you Jimbo but we're gunna need all the warmth we can get, joining two up and going into pairs just wouldn't cut it, especially not during the night." Came the grumpy voice of his cmo who raised his hands when Jim shot him a speculatong look "Look i don't like it either but i'd rather not freeze to death out here."

His eyes flicked over to Spock for a split second before returning to look at Bones who was now sporting a smirk.  _Bastard._ It didnt take them long to set up everything resting there bags against the nearest wall and the makeshift sleeping bag right next to them incase anything was needed during the night. Discussing which area of the cave was going to be used to see to functions that wouldnt just stop working for three days just because they were trapped without a toilet, it wasn't as an awkward conversation as you'd expect. Luckily they found they'd brought enough water to last them a fair few days, it's as though they'd all gotten used to these type of disasters happening in missions and subconsciously prepared for them by bringing more supplies than they needed. Luckily Dr Reid had also brought a handful of protein bars, weirdly she hadn't said a word since they'd gotten into this predicament that was until it came down to finally getting some sleep. They were very nearly out of light by this point and leonard was just removing his boots putting his socked feet atop the sleeping bag when she turned around and said something none of them had realised would need to happen.

"For one these huge coats are gunna need to come off, and so is the rest of the top half of your clothing, so id hurry up if you want to avoid frostbite." She spoke nonchalantly not even looking at them as she took her boots off aswell and started to unbutton the behemoth of a coat. "Why are you all looking at me like ive murdered your family pet?"

"Dr Reid is right, in order to warm up faster it is ideal that there is no layers of clothing between people in survival conditions." Spock started doing the same leaving Bones and Jim looking at each other in horror. Before removing the coat completely she pulled out a thermometer from one of the backpacks and did a quick test of her body temperature, then after quickly wiping it down with a disinfectant wipe shoved the thermometer device into jims ear waiting for the beep before nodding to herself as she read his temperature. All the while Jim looked slightly violated at the onslaught on his ear.

"Captain you'll need to sleep on one side of Spock, id actually prefer it if spock was in the middle because of his naturally lower core temperature but i'll give him the choice for tonight and see how he feels in the morning, it'll probably help him sleep if less people are touching him." She said matter of factly and started to take off her coat folding it near one of the bags as the light coming through the icy walls lessened even more and left them in a dim blue haze.

"That is very considerate, thank you doctor." Spock nodded his head as he took off his coat as well folding it on his side of the sleeping bag before Alex and himself removed there uniform shirt and undershirt in one.

Leaving both Jim and Leonard in momentary shock as they were presented with two polar opposites both with pale skin. One with a tight toned slim waist and very wide hips leading up to a more plump and prominent chest area held in place by a black bra and well shaped shoulders all around a more voluptuous figure, the other lean and carrying far more muscle with a solid chest, broad shoulders and much more definition than anyone had previously realised, patches of green speckled over white skin, the size of his upper arms surprising even Dr Reid as she turned and her eyes wondered for a split second.

"Oi, you're both wasting time do you want us to freeze to death, move it! Spock, get in." she lifted the sleeping bag entrance as she got in so the shivering vulcan could enter while the other two men got there bearings, She moved close to him trying to offer some of her heat but made sure she didn't touch him skin to skin.

"I do not think they were prepared for you to be so bold and un modest doctor, the terran term i believe is that they were 'caught off guard'." Spock commented through chattering teeth wanting to embrace the small amount of heat Dr Reid's body was offering but not being mentally prepared to deal with the onslaught of accidental emotional transfer that his touch telepathy would likely commence.

"Ain't got time for modesty Spock it's just a body, and the temperatures dropping fast i did the logical thing."

"I completely agree Doctor."

"Quit talking like we're not here." Bones mumbled as he slid in behind Alex pulling her back to make way for Jim to get in infront of her so that he'd be able to keep spock warm with his extra few degrees of body heat. They zipped up the side that was partly open and lifted the hood area of the sleeping bag over to avoid heat escaping in the vital first few minutes leaving them feeling like tightly packed sardines in a tin.

"Its starting to warm up already, good call doc. Erm are we gunna have to stay in the sleeping bag for three days straight?" Jim asked not quite sure how he felt about it not that he'd complain if its ensuring their survival he just wasn't that good at being lazy or staying still for such long periods at a time. He shifted a little to make himself more comfortable unconsciously curling into spock and Dr Reid at the same time coming into contact with them both with different parts of his body. His arm draped over Spocks hip as he pushed his butt outward into Dr reid's stomach, who shifted up slightly so her entire top half was pressed against his back and not his ass. "Ah yes big spoon and little spoon at the same time." He grinned to himself in the dark hearing Dr Reid snigger behind him at his comment.

"We might need to Jim, especially for Spocks sake." came the low rumble of Bones from behind him.

"We gotta do what we gotta do then, but i think you're just making this up so you can spend as much time as possible pressed up against Dr Reid." Jim chided, vaguely feeling Spock relax more beneath his touch as the heat spread throughout the sleeping bag making it really the perfect warmth. He hoped Spock didn't feel too uncomfortable, must have been strange for him having another guys chest pressed against his back.

Bones snorted from behind him. "She's like a human space heater so I'm definitely not complaining, though the hair is getting in the way a bit, do you not wanna take that bobble out? You don't normally sleep with one in, can't be comfortable."

"I don't normally sleep with a bra on either but here we are." She grumbled to herself and Jim could feel her shuffling her arms behind him. "Happy now?" She chided Bones who let out a small grunt.

"No… your hairs just got in my mouth." Alex just laughed at this and came back to being pressed against Jims back.

"You know doc if you wanna get comfy and take off the bra i really don't have a problem with- hey wait a second how do you know she doesn't sleep with her hair up?" Jim turned his head slightly so it was facing them despite the inability to see anything in a the blackness of the sleeping bag. He felt Dr Reid stiffen slightly behind him and frowned into the darkness aiming his glare towards Bones, somehow hoping he'd feel it rather than see it.

"Patient confidentiality. Now quiet Jim we need to get some sleep eventually, you're gunna wake Spock up." Leonard grumbled wrapping his arm around the redheads waist so it was trapped between her stomach and Jim's back. Jim felt the hand there and raised his eyebrows to himself.  _I'll get more info out of you before our times up Bones just you wait._

"I am i fact still awake Leonard but i do agree captain, we should try and get as much rest as possible to preserve our energy." Spocks voice was quiet and strangely calming making the group rejig there positions to find the most comfortable.

"Alrighty guys, please try not to snore, G'night." Jim breathed out in an almost whisper as he let a sigh of comfort escape his body. The warmth that surrounded him was enticing, and though Spock's skin was slightly cooler to the touch he'd like to think his body heat had helped warm Spock up enough to the point he barely noticed the difference in temperature at the points they were touching. Three whispered replies of goodnight echoed his own words as they all fell into a slightly cramped but cosy slumber. Jim smiling to himself as he practically spooned spock not realising he'd completely nuzzled his face into the back of the vulcans neck.

* * *

Jim blinked groggily as he began to wake up feeling warmth all around him as faint light peeked through the hood of the sleeping bag. He was lied flat on his back with weight on his chest and one of his arms only to look to his left and see a disheveled mass of black hair resting on his stretched out arm, Spock was still sound asleep somehow, lips slightly parted and stubble starting to appear on his chin and jawline. He'd never seen Spock look so peaceful before, and he'd be lying if his breath didn't catch in his throat at seeing Spock like this, all ruffled from sleep and unshaven, he'd never used the word beautiful to describe a man before but damn… The faint light that was peeking through cast itself across Spock's eyelids causing him to stir, opening his eyes to look straight into Jims. Their faces were so close and Jim could feel Spocks stubble scratching against his shoulder and feel the mans breath on his skin. They stayed like that for a while just looking at eachother, faces mere inches apart. Until Jim looked down at sculpted strong lips noticing exactly where Spock's body was resting against his, chest pressed to his side and thigh pressed against him. Jim sucked in a breath in the faint morning glow, blue eyes darting back up to meet brown before returning to his lips. He wanted to. He really wanted to.

I wonder what he tastes like

Jim couldn't explain what he was feeling if he tried all he knew was he could hear blood rushing in his ears and feel his heart pounding against his chest. He felt warmth spreading out from his chest to his fingertips, and something else, something a little less innocent and savory coursing through him as he instinctively leaned forward the tiniest amount, his breath mingling with Spocks as he got closer than he ever had before to his first officer. He ignored the blood rushing south even as it became painful trapped in the confines of his trousers.

"Spock"

Jim barely breathed the words, not meaning to say them outloud at all. A faint green tinted Spocks cheeks before brown eyes darted down looking past Jim. Jim could see the barrier going up as he watched un aware why until he felt movement on his chest. Frowning he turned his head to finally see the weight that had been holding him down was actually another person in the form of doctor Reid. Eyes half open she looked towards the pair before realising she was lied on her captain, instead of freaking out like any other officer would do in this situation she just smiled. Jim knew the moment was gone, his heart sunk slightly but he couldn't help but grin back and the barely awake redhead, there was something about sleepy women that he'd always had a soft spot for, even if he wasn't pinning after them. She mumbled an apology before turning round to cuddle up to Leonard who was still flat out, regaining consciousness for a split second as she folded herself up next to him just long enough for him wrap an arm around her and play with some lose strands of hair.

He felt Spock shift off his arm and back up slightly as if to give him some space, sending pins and needles to where Spock's head was resting on his bicep before he'd moved. Jim chuckled at the fact he had a dead arm. Spock must have been laid on him most of the night.

"Its time for alpha shift.." Bones mumbled from the far end of the sleeping bag shuffling about slightly as his body tried to wake his mind up fully "mornin' do you want some coffee or- whoa hold up a sec woman how did you get in here." Bones shot up in confusion before the cold reminded him he wasn't in his quarters or anyone else's for that matter. Jim couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him as Bones buried himself back in the sleeping bag without another word.

"Don't worry Bones she didn't spike your drink to seduce you, we're just stuck on an icy planet together for a few days." Jim chided.

Bones sighed as he turned on his side looking over at Jim "Any messages from the ship? And i'm just thankful i didn't wake up to your mug because that would've be dreadful for everyone involved."

"So that's it we're awake now." Alex grumbled frowning deeply with her eyes still shut "10 more minutes." She groaned scooting back towards Leonard who had his arm propping his head up so he could talk to Jim. He brought his other arm to down to rest on her waist moving it up and down slowly before frowning and rolling his eyes.

"Do you have a vendetta against clothes or something witch, where've you thrown your damned bra."

Jims eyebrows reached his hairline in shock as he looked at dr Reid still trying to fold herself up into Leonard. Despite her state of undress.

"Can't sleep in them they're like prisons, its not good for blood flow either which as a doctor you should know that. Hey hey, alright fine be like that." She huffed as leonard turned completely away from her she looked towards Jim as if asking for answers.

"You can steal some of my warmth if you need. Im sure Bones wont mind." Jim smirked seeing Bones tense up as she tried to shuffle his way. Without so much as a warning Bones turned around and was hovering over the redhead in a flash raising the sleeping bag enough so that she was more or less exposed to the entire cave. She squealed folding her arms across her chest to cover as much as she could.

Leonard looked down at her and gestured with his head to his spot. "Move." His frown was deeper than usual and his tone wasn't to be argued with, the possessiveness in his eyes did things to her she didn't care to admit as she turned over and let him slide between her and Jim. She sucked in a breath of air as something hard pressed against her ass as Leonard positioned himself as big spoon. As a means to make sure she wasn't imagining things she decided to wiggle ever so slightly up against him. She had to suppress a small moan as fingers dug into her hips hard enough to leave bruises and a hot wet mouth bit down gently into her shoulder.

"Cmon Bones i was only messing you didn't need to swap places. Jeez…" Jim turned away from the broad back that had replaced the more feminine frame that had been next to him, stretching an arm out of the sleeping bag to grab his comm. "No messages from the ship but i can definitely still hear that storm, i guess we just gotta make do for these next few days." Jim sighed staring at Spocks toned back nonchalantly. "So sleep as much as you want and only leave the sleeping bag during the day." Jim heard humming in response from dr Reid which was the only confirmation from anyone that he'd been heard. God it was gunna be a long couple of days he really wasn't good at doing nothing for extended periods of time.

"You know since we're gunna be stuck here for a couple of days we could just talk, actually get to know eachother…i just, i know of you all but i don't know you if that makes sense?" Dr Reid turned to face the rest of the men in the sleeping bag propping herself up on one arm making Leonard turn to lay on his back eyes wide no doubt fully awake from getting an eyeful.

"I believe considering the circumstances this is an agreeable way to pass the time." Spock turned to face inwards as well not propping himself up but lying on his own arm instead.

"I could think of a better way to pass the time." Leonard spouted a lecherous grin as he was slapped on the chest as a freckled face frowned down at him.

"Has anyone told you your minds as filthy as your mouth? Zip it. You sound like a desperate teen."

Leonard's eyebrows shot up in offence. "That's rich coming from yo-" unable to finish his sentence due to a slender hand being slapped over his mouth he frowned in disapproval.

"Well you did say you wanted to talk doc, you never specified what about." Jim chuckled as she removed her hand skeptically from Bones mouth. "But yea Bones, shut up."

"I to have heard far to much and would rather not hear anymore from you Leonard." Spock added in causing the entire group to turn and frown at the vulcan in confusion.

"The hell do you mean far to much?" Leonard grumbled one eyebrow raised in suspicion as he eyed the vulcan across from him.

"I have overheard previous conversations by mistake between you and Dr Reid, conversations i believe were meant to be private." Spock cocked an eyebrow back in some sort of defence and Jim was looking between the two men on either side of him as if a brawl was about to ensue. But it was Alex's turn to add to the conversation.

"Erm, i don't really think we've had that many private conversations for anyone to overhear so im kinda struggling to think of what you might have overheard."

"I will not repeat what was said as it is highly inappropriate but i happened to overhear it yesterday as you were both arriving at medbay to provide medical examinations of our new guests." Something clicked for them both but it was Alex's face turning tomato red that set Jim off laughing.

"So you were eavesdropping." Leonard chided.

"It was not my intention to overhear your discussion Leonard, in fact it was one of those times i wished my hearing wasn't as refined as it is."

"Oohh so harsh Spock." Jim chuckled grinning like a mad man.

"C'mon Spock it wasn't really that bad, just imagine yourself saying that to someone you're interested in in that way." Alex paused stifling a giggle. "Although i really can't imagine those particular words coming out of your mouth."

"Oh good lord no." Leonard chuckled lightly and Spock frowned.

"I fail to see why it isn't something you could see me saying, i am capable of free speech and have the ability to say anything i wish." Spock almost sounded offended.

"Well go on then, say it Spock." Jim cocked an eyebrow up at his first officer challenging the vulcan without knowing what it was he was trying to get him to say.

"But say it like you mean it spock, don't say it like you're reciting statistics, say it how you'd say it to a lover." Alex wiggled her eyebrows at the vulcan on the other side of the sleeping bag playfully.

"I- i cannot." Spock turned to look at a far wall of the cave before turning back his face contorted as if he was struggling to comprehend something.

"Its easy Spock, look i want you to picture someone. Look at me but picture this person. Focus now, you like them. You haven't been able to see them all day. You've kissed maybe once but didn't have any time to enjoy it, go on." The cave was silent as Spock stared across at Alex but he wasn't really seeing her at all. His eyes had almost fully dilated and were black. He felt Jim shift next to him and could feel the waves of anticipation flow from him along with excitement, the constant skin to skin contact must have been wearing him down for him to even feel slightly compelled to rise to this challenge. The bright green eyes looking at him morphed into ocean blue and his mouth moved on its own accord. Memories of this morning and Jim whispering his name almost against his mouth came to mind. His words came out as a low rumble almost sounding like a threat or a rather dirty promise.

"Next time you moan like that I'll be bending you over the nearest table."

There was a brief silence as everyone held their breath waiting for Spock to come out of his little trance and take in the shock on his colleagues faces, noting the fact that Dr Reid was now fanning herself with her free hand.

"Not bad." Leonard offered nodding briefly.

"Ill say." Alex added pink flush flooding her cheeks.

"Watch it, you heard it from me first. Don't go trying to steal my girl now Spock." Leonard joked southern drawl slightly stronger as he yawned. Spock offered a smirk in return and the smallest snigger.

"Rest assured Leonard i was not thinking about 'your girl.'"

Feeling the wave of relief from his captain caused him to look across to meet blue eyes boring into him. Jim offered him a small smile and a nod not realising his emotions and thoughts were freely being given away to Spock as the lay flush next to each other. He was slightly taken aback by the wave of affection that was directed towards him with the words beautiful and unkept being used together, it almost made him self consciously want to tidy his bed head up. Almost. But there was no negative connotations with the thoughts of his unkept appearance. His train of thought promptly interrupted by Leonard complaining about their circumstances.

"I hate this, if id have wanted to spend three days in bed I'd do it in my own quarters where my back would thank me for it. I'm gunna need physiotherapy after this damned mission." the man groaned in pain turning onto his stomach as if in protest from the pain the hard ground was causing his back.

"Shit you've just reminded me Bones, im swapping some rotas around remind me to send you the details when we're back on the ship." Jim frowned trying to recall if there was any other news he needed to remember.

"Will do Jimbo, that's if I'm not in a wheelchair by then." the man grimaced again as he shifted onto his side.

"we do have hypos you know, or you could try getting up and stretching." Dr Reids voice chimed a somewhat motherly tone having a calming effect on all three men even as she shuffled through her backpack. "Here, a small dosage should be alright for now." she smiled innocently as she handed the hypo to him but pulling it away at lightning speed as soon as Leonard went to reach for it, jabbing it into the tender flesh of his neck without warning. This had Jim roaring with laughter especially when Bones started cursing the woman to hell and back.

"That's how it feels to be on the receiving end of one of your hypos Bones!" Jim wheezed holding his stomach as he keeled into himself.

"I hate you all." Leonard mumbled rubbing his neck glaring at the red head next to him that was wearing a winning grin as she lay on her front propping herself up on both elbows.

"Ive been meaning to ask where did you both go after you left the lift to head to med bay?" Jim questioned turning his head slightly to meet confused faces.

"We went to med bay?" Leonard replied, a confused frown slowly falling into place.

"No but before you got there, i mean there's no way spock overheard that particular thing unless you'd stopped somewhere on the way."

There was a long pause as Jim flitted between looking at both doctors faces who shared a curious glance with each other before looking back to their captain. Bones went to open his mouth in response but was abruptly cut off.

"-you're a right pervert has anyone ever told you that, Captain?" Alexs british accent came through thick in that momemt and sounded alot more common than usual with her chosen choice of slang. If Leonard had been drinking something at the time he would have spat it out, instead he started choking on his own saliva as he tried not to laugh. Not only at the comment but the look of shock on Jims face of being accused of such things in such a blunt way, the man's eyes were like saucers and his mouth was hanging wide open.

Jim coughed as he tried to respond a smile threatening to break out on his lips. "Well-i, ive never had someone call me a pervert and call me captain in the same sentence before."

Quiet laughter was coming from Alex as she ducked behind Leonard for partial cover before lifting her head up so only her eyes were visible. "Id think it was obvious captain," She said while rolling her eyes dramatically, " i obviously pushed him into a supply cupboard and had my way with him." Jim immediately noted the eyeroll and playful smirk that Bones sported and concluded that was a big fat lie.

"You wish, she aint lyin' about pushing me into a supply cupboard though. I damn near had a heart attack, didn't know what was going on, it was nye on pitch black in there. Until she started spouting on about needing some specific equipment that is." Bones shook his head as if recalling the memory finishing off the sentence with his usual exclamation of 'damn witch' before rolling onto his back again and closing his eyes.

Jim knew something more than that had happened based on the words Spock had overheard but he wasn't going to push it it might be a little awkward if they were stuck with one another for three days straight. He suspected they'd at the very least kissed already, it probably wasn't their first kiss, but that's the only thing that fit the timeframe.

"I was supposed to call my dad tonight." Came a quiet murmur from the opposite side of Bones, it sounded oddly sad. Jim watched as Bones frowned and turned over not missing the way he tucked her hair back over her shoulder.

"Call him when we get back on the ship, you can tell him all about how perverted Jim is." Bones voice was low and soft compared to his usual booming tone of authority which had Jim smiling sincerely to himself, it wasnt majorly noticeable to anyone that didnt know bones maybe even seemed like his concerned doctor tone but there was something in the tone that was different. Something Jim hadn't heard from his friend before, at least not in the context of it being directed to a woman, to jo maybe, but even then it was father to daughter, it was different.

Alex let out a small laugh, "cause you're so much better." She snorted at the scandalised look of offence Leonard pulled.

"I'll think you'll find i've been nothing but a gentleman." He scoffed.

"Oh yea the perfect southern gentleman, isnt there a rule about not sleeping with someone on the first date." she whispered poking him in the chest as she grinned up at him.

"We haven't even been on a date ye-"

"Whoa whoa whoa rewind and freeze, you've slept together?!" Jim bolted upright looking down at the pair in dismay. Why the hell had his best friend lied to him about taking things slow. About not rushing into things. When he'd already slept with her?

"Jim. It's not how it sounds, wrong context."

"Yea no seriously bad wording on my part it wasn't like that there was no… naked tango… i kinda had a bit of a break down and Leonard stayed to make sure i was alright. We slept as in sleeping..." she gestured wildly with her hands over compensating for the fact she couldn't sit up like the two men and openly express herself without exposing herself.

"What she just said, it was just after the loss of ensign Riley." Bones ground out, a solemn face now in place as Jim looked the pair up and down with scepticism before frowning down at Alex quizzically.

"Naked tango?" Jim smirked pinching the bridge of his nose as he chuckled.

"What? I was under pressure! Besides i've just realised something…" all three men looked at her expectantly. "He's technically my boss so now i feel a little weird about the whole idea."

"There are no starfleet regulations that stop crew members of the same faculty from entering into a relationship with one another. Though it is normally advised against starfleet did take into consideration the length of this mission. However, you would need to submit a S.A.M.R form for review to Dr Mccoy before engaging in sexual activity with him." Spock lifted an eyebrow as mixed looks greeted him. Jims was one of pure confusion and Alex's was one of disbelief. Leonard however seemed to be finding the information very humorous.

"What's an S.A.M.R form?" Jim asked in a small voice feeling like it's something he should know about.

"It is a form that crew members must submit to the cmo for review before engaging in sexual activities with other crew members, in some cases it is to assess whether they are compatible to each other if they happen to be of different species. Though it is mostly used to keep track and stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases." Spock was surprised Jim didn't know this considering he was the captain. It was something he should be privy with.

"So i have to send him a request form BEFORE i decide to sleep with him? Do i not get like a test run first. This is beyond stupid i knew about these forms but i didn't know they were still enforced." Alex frowned quirking a brow when Jim started to sputter and cough wheezing the words "test run" on repeat as he continued laughing. "What if i send the form in after the deed is done?"

"Then you have to come in for a medical exam. And not the fun kind… you have to have a mandatory gynecology exam." Bones deadpanned lips in a tight line as he tried not to laugh at the flustered woman next to him.

"You've got to be shitting me... but i'm a qualified doctor surely-."

"A qualified doctor but no woman, qualified doctor or not, can perform a gyno exam on themselves."

"Well atleast i can get chapel to do it." Alex folded her arms in protest.

"Christine isn't trained…" Leonard paused his eyes glistening with mischief as Jim continued his fit of laughter behind him.

"No." Alex's face scrunched up in fear.

"I'm the only other doctor thats trained."

"I hope that isn't your ice breaker Leonard because its a real turn off, ah well i've survived this long without being laid. May as well join a nunnery while i'm at it." Alex's frown was threatening to become permanent as she rolled over away from the eyes of the other three men. Leonard couldn't help but laugh at the look on her face and placed a hand on her waist in the warmth of the sleeping bag.

"If it makes you feel any better doctor, Leonard also has to send a form off." Leonards look off horror indicated he'd completely forgotten this particular rule until this exact second. "Being a head of faculty he has to send his S.A.M.R form to the captain to be reviewed."

"And you know as soon as i get that form Bones the entire ship is being informed." Jim grinned mercilessly, blue eyes swimming with schemes to make his friends life that little bit more annoying.

After about an hour of Bones arguing with Jim over the fairness of him having to send a form out with Spock chipping in to state regulations every so often to put Leonard back in his place everything had died down into a comfortable silence again. Jim was the first to grace their makeshift toilet area with the contents of his bladder before falling asleep after half an hours worth of idle chit chat with Spock and Bones as the three of them were pretty sure, somehow, during their bickering, Alex had fallen asleep. It must have been just past midday at this point and it seemed everyone but Leonard was asleep again.

"Typical." Leonard huffed turning himself to face Alex before scooting up behind her sliding his body up alongside hers as if they were a jigsaw puzzle. It was strange he'd admit. It was almost like he'd known her for years or thats what it felt like, even if they didnt know everything there was to know about the other. There was a constant pull to her that he just couldn't bring himself to ignore, was he ready to take the jump? God knows.

But i'll be out of my damn mind if i don't at least try

Jim could make his jokes about sex all he wanted but it wasn't about that. Not really. Being attractive is one thing. But that's not what caught Leonards attention that first time in the transporter room. It was those damn eyes. And that playful smirk, he hadn't known it then but he'd been hooked as soon as she'd opened her mouth to sass him. But those eyes were something he'd never be able to forget, or the curiosity in them the first time their eyes locked before she'd shimmied away with Spock to the medbay for the first time. He'd felt like he'd been shocked with a live wire, the spark behind those emerald orbs enticing him but never quite giving away their secrets or intentions. Then the woman herself and her quick witted remarks, she was strong yet sensitive, unbelievably selfless, and funny. Especially if the amount Leonard had laughed these past couple of months was anything to go by. He even found her foul language oddly endearing. He wasn't going to get into her dirty mind because that was a very obvious thing already. He was stirred from his thoughts as a hand reached back and made a grab at his trousers dangerously close to his junk.

"What the hell Leonard. The hell is that." Alex groggily turned to face him digging her hand in his pocket only to pull out a rather hefty torch. Alex dropped her head in a quiet fit of laughter as Leonard looked on totally bewildered by what would be so funny. She shook her head at him bringing her eyes up to meet his waving the torch in front of his face. "This has been digging into my ass since this morning, and here's me thinking you were just happy to see me."

A burst of air escaped his mouth as he joined her in laughing quietly, tears building up behind his lids as he ran a hand down his face. "Im sorry i really am… Christ." Leonard let out a few more quiet chuckles as he lay back down, wiping his eyes as he went. "I'll make sure that doesn't bother you again." He spoke as he slotted himself back in behind her smaller frame, hand resting on the curve of her body where ass met hips. A comfortable silence fell around them only soft shuffling could be heard around them, Alex shifted against him her arse now firmly pressed against his groin. Leonard could feel the electricity in the atmosphere spike as he propped his head up with his hand as she turned her head to look up at him green eyes searching, needing some kind of answer. And he answered, leaning down to press his lips against the porcelain skin of her neck. He tugged lightly on her hair to get her to expose more of her neck earning him a small ass wiggle as she pressed back into him even more. Everything was on fire, the heat in the sleeping bag was suddenly uncomfortable but he didn't stop trailing slow hot kisses down her neck unable to resist nipping gently just under her jaw and sucking on that spot agonisingly slow as she tried her best not to rithe against him, a hand weaving its way into his hair tugging lightly as a satisfied sigh left her lips. Why oh why couldn't he resist torturing them both, and why did she have to tease him endlessly, he was nearly at his wits end it was driving him crazy. But maybe that was her plan all along. He'd never been blue balled this much by a girl since highschool. And all of a sudden he was craving it just because he got to explore a little further each time. It was like she was giving herself to him in pieces, slowly rather than all at once and he couldn't get enough. Having to wear his uniform pants to sleep in was proving uncomfortable… and very tight. Without thinking he pulled her hair back and tucked it behind her ear hot breath caressing her jaw as he stopped himself from growling at the thought of what he was about to do.

_Those damn pointed ears god damn i just wanna-_

He leaned down nibbling the lobe of her ear hungrily before dragging his tongue over the outer shell all the way to the point, he felt the shiver rake through her body and could partly see the way her face contorted in pleasure eyes closed tight and bottom lip quivering, the hand that wasn't in his hair now grabbing at his hips. He went back in for more, this time sucking on the lobe before he leaned around to gently nibble on the point of her ear, still quiet he could hear her panting underneath him, eyes heavy lidded but open and begging him for something. That look alone had him nearly groaning into her neck as he felt his cock twitch against her ass but what he wasn't prepared for was her reaching for his free hand and guiding it over to the hem of her uniform pants. Her hands coaxing him to go inside. He did groan then, sounding more animalistic than he'd meant too as he bit down into her neck, sucking hard as his hips bucked into her automatically. He turned for split second just to check that the pair behind him were still asleep. They weren't even facing him.

_My god i can feel her heat from here if i just go lower i-_

Alex offered him up a choice undoing the button on her uniform trousers not expecting him to go back to her ear, electricity shot straight to her core and she could feel the all too familiar pressure building and building. She could feel her heart pounding in her ears as he continued his attack on her ear each flick of his tongue sending waves of pleasure straight to the ever building heat that was getting dangerously close to tipping point. Before she had the chance to shove his hand away and finish herself off finally ending the assault on her ear, there were teeth grazing over its point with a hot breath that sent her toppling over the edge. Alex gasped, slapping her hand over her mouth and squeezing her eyes shut as wave after wave of pleasure raked through her body, un aware that she was twitching from the sheer force of her climax. Opening her eyes as the waves died down to a dull throbbing between her legs she turned to look at Leonard. Pupils blown wide and eyelids heavy, she felt a deep set satisfaction, her entire body feeling comfortably tired, all her nerve endings feeling such relief every part of her body felt hazy. She'd never had an orgasm like that before.

_Why are my ears so sensitive? Why am i only just finding this out?!_

Leonard looked down at her content eyes and the small smile that greeted him in slight shock, what he'd just witnessed, the way her body had been twitching and the look on her face as she nearly bit down on her own hand... "Did you just?..."  _Well fuck me._

"Shhhh you did a good job." She lazily put a finger in front of his mouth as she turned to face him whispering as best she could cheeks burning red from her embarrassment _. I feel fucking amazing but my god what the hell. This is ridiculous why did that just happen. Of all the places where that amount of sensitivity should be i- why do i have that level of sensitivity in my ears? What the-_

Leonard couldn't help but let out a small exasperated laugh as he lay back down, eyebrow raised as he turned his head toward her. "You definitely look like you enjoyed it, i'll have to rephrase my original statement to; 'anything these legendary hands or mouth can do for you, don't hesitate to ask'." _That was one of the hottest things i've ever seen… i may have a bit of a thing for her pixie ears, maybe best to save those type of orgasms for far and few between though, she looks exhausted._

Not once had the thought of it being weird crossed Leonard's mind, of course he'd been a bit shocked but he'd saw how much it was affecting her and continued on regardless. If anything it just peaked his interest, with her quirkiness and her little hobgoblin ears that for some reason turned him on to no end. How they were so graceful and smooth in shape, meeting to a fine point, but could also make her cum in less than 5 minutes flat. Information he'd need to file away for safekeeping.

"I'm sorry that was kinda weird… I've- nobody's ever done that before so i didn't know about- i didn't know they were that sensitive." Alex looked down shuffling back slightly from Leonards welcoming arm. He frowned at her.

"What? I could describe what i've just watched with many words sweetheart, but weird isn't one of them." He turned her chin to the side, pressing his lips against hers in a slow deliberate way that had her head spinning. His scent was everywhere and his breath was so invitingly hot against her mouth, but there was a different kind of heat in this kiss. Not like the kiss in the supply cupboard that was full of raging hormones and unanswered sexual tension. This was more than that. It was comfort. It was reassurance. It was care, contentment and passion all in one. And my god did it feel like home, she never wanted to leave. He pulled away slowly their eyes finally meeting, his breath caught in his throat. Those brilliant green eyes were letting him in they weren't closed off in the slightest. The contemptment and happiness that was whirling around in her ever green orbs was contagious as he grinned from ear to ear.

"I hate to ruin the moment but can you swap sides with me, i sleep better when I'm facing the other way.. And i kinda want to be the small spoon." Alex trailed off laughter dancing in her eyes.

"Ugh fine here let me-" He had his breath knocked out of him as she clambered over him as he'd tried to move himself, knocking her off balance and leaving her straddling him but knocked flat onto his chest, he could feel the weight on his chest from a very particular pair of assets. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he looked up to green eyes that were inches away from his, her breath ghosting over his lips.

"Oops" she breathed out, voice barely audible as she leaned up slightly. And Leonard couldn't help it, he looked down feeling blood heading south immediately.

"Yea, sorry." He muttered not being able to pull his eyes away from where her boobs were pressed against him, a sparse scattering of freckles spread over her chest heading into the crease of cleavage he couldn't look away from.

"My eyes are up here, Mccoy." Alex chided smirk playing on her lips. Leaning forward she could feel something hard pressed against her inner thigh. _Oh._ "I'll be repaying the favour when we get back to the ship, with interest." She whispered in his ear as she slid off him, slotting herself back between him and Jim.

"I hate you." Leonard groaned, covering his eyes with a hand.

"I know you do."


	13. Lift affairs

Warning. Feels ahead.

* * *

Jim woke up groggily for the second time head feeling cloudy and mouth feeling dry. He almost felt like he'd swallowed cotton wool. At Least he was warm and comfy, he didn't want to open his eyes but my god did he need some water. He creaked one eye open letting it adjust to the dimly lit sleeping bag. Whatever he was laid on it was soft, did these coats have pillow like stuffing in the hood? Good call. It smelt pretty nice as well and the way it rose and fell ever so slightly was oddly comforting.

_Hold on. Pillows don't breathe._

Opening both eyes he squinted ahead barely being able to make out much since he seemed to have curled himself up deeper in the sleeping bag than usual. He could see Bones across from him or it definitely looked like bones, he was really close. He was lied on the breathing pillow as well. Just higher up with his face buried in it a little more than what jims was. Jim shuffled up gently till he was at the same level Bones was at and god damn was this part more comfy it's as if the little crook was made for peoples heads to rest in the most comfortable way, Bones had definitely got something right.

_Wait a second wasn't Bones next to me yesterday?... So how is he across from me? And why us this pillow so squishy._

Jim shuffled trying to get rid of the nagging feeling in the back of his head that he was missing something. Flinging his arm up to get himself more comfortable he found it rested perfectly in between him and Bones. Then something was moving, his eyelids were heavy again dry mouth partly forgotten at his new found level of comfort. What was it that was moving?

He heard bones groan across from him making him look up slightly.

_Oh my god is there a monster in here with us attacking bones. Is it a virus? Some kind of alien disease? I-i have to-_

All of a sudden there was a hand running through his hair and all the adrenaline that had built up in his short panic subsided as he groaned. Finger tips massaging his scalp gently. Thats what was happening to Bones he could see dark strands of hair being ruffled slowly now. They weren't in danger they were fine. They'd all be back on the ship in no time. All four of them were safe.

_Wait._

Jim jumped a little, like his body had realised what he was laid on but his mind hadn't yet, which started what should have been an incredibly embarrassing chain effect. Waking Leonard up across from him as the older man cracked an eye open and glared across at Jim slightly taken aback at how close they were but not fully focused as hands still carded through his hair.

"Whats wrong, nd' why the hell are you all up in my face Jim." Leonard grunted eyes almost falling closed again.

"I erm- i just-" Jim spluttered lazily over his words before a quiet hum vibrated through him from under his hand. His eyes darting to his hand and what it was resting on as the hand finally stopped stroking through his hair. He squinted down lifting his hand up slowly so that it was ghosting over where it had been cautiously, noting that as he got further down there seemed to be a slight upward slope present. His mind still trying to catch up.

"Whoever that is is gunna lose a hand."

_Shit. Thats a- erm- Dr Reid- Tits-_

Jim whipped his hand away propping himself up almost immediately squinting down at the sleepy redhead with a look of confusion tiredness and apology.

"Sorry." Was all he could muster up in his befuddled state. Green eyes didn't even look towards him and instead a hand waved jim back down but Jim didn't move.

"Relax god, you'd think after last night you'd be less tense." Dr Reid muttered eyes falling closed again as she drifted between consciousness.

"Im sorry. What." Jim questioned, every neuron in his brain firing simultaneously trying to remember what the hell had happened last night.

Alex opened her eyes and looked up at him, eyes widening slowly as she recognised her captain. "Wait- oh, erm awkward. Thought i was still asleep, hold on was that- just then," she pointed at her chest then to Jim on loop before Jim offered up a shit eating grin that he hoped would get him off the hook. "Pervert."

" I was half asleep, i didn't realise." Jim hissed quietly, lowering himself back down onto his side but not tucking himself back up against the doctor, the entire concept feeling slightly odd to him now he was awake. "Besides i'm not the one who swapped places in the middle of the night!"

"God, who knew waking up between two men could be so stressful." Bones snorted at her comment eyes still closed as he nuzzled his head slightly lower. "Watch it, just because i like you doesn't mean you have boob access."

"What's so funny Bones? got personal experience waking up between two men?" Jim chided lazily as he led his head fall onto his hand as he looked over at Leonard not missing the way one eye slowly opened and glared at him.

"Fortunately not, im not as experienced as you in that department Jimbo." He grunted squeezing his eyes shut trying to get back to the comfortable sleepiness he'd felt not five seconds ago. Jim just laughed.

"Aren't you curious?" Alex asked head turning slightly down to look at the ruffled mass of hair that let out a huge sigh as soon as the question left her lips.

"I've never felt the undying need to go out and search for a guy to sleep with so not that curious." he admitted, its wasn't odd for Bones to discuss certain topics but Jim liked this more open aspect of him. He seemed more relaxed discussing certain things than before.

"Bones, you haven't felt the need to search for anybody in a long time. Besides we kissed before-"

"We were intoxicated and i can barely remember any of that night let alone how that went down." Bones opened both eyes squinting at Jim accusingly. "We did only kiss right?"

"I'm a little fuzzy on the details, don't look at me like that, THAT didn't happen, why would i aim to sleep with my best friend." Jim rolled his eyes dramatically as Bones shrugged.

"So there is a curiosity there but it's more willing when you're drunk, honestly you should just find a guy and try nd' then if you aren't into it just stop." Alex gestured dramatically "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Wait fuzzy on what details? And well i don't know i could hurt the guy or myself or visa versa, or hello sexually transmitted diseases."

"There may have been some groping." Jim admitted offhandedly.

"Well lucky i don't remember the details or id hypo you into next week."

"Over something that happened at the academy?" Jim chuckled at his grumpy friend. "When did you get so big on women again anyway?"

Alex waved at Jim then. "Since i graced him with my presence."

"Do you normally chase all your men down doctor?" Jim joked.

"I never chase them, but if they're good looking, smart, kind and have a mean sense of humour. I might just power walk." She gave Jim a shit eating grin as he laughed at her.

"I don't get chased by women." Bones grunted from his spot on her chest looking up at her and Jim with tired eyes.

"Well no i didn't chase you to be honest, its been more like sending a report a sentence at a time. But the report is my availability, and i sent the entire thing after the first three sentences. God i need to tone it down. Anyway. Yes they do. Are you blind? You even have guys trying to chase you they're just a lot more subtle than the women."

"Don't be so shocked Bones you're an attractive guy, even scotty has a fair few 'fans' shall we call them?" Jim chipped in hoping Bones was trying to be modest, but knowing full well modesty wasn't his best friends style and he did probably think that little of himself.

"Alright first off why are you shocked scotty has a fan group and second off Leonard, i could name a lot of the people that are trailing after you like dogs in heat."

"Well, scotty's great and all but a lot of people think he's kinda average in the looks department if you catch my drift." Jim felt as if he was about to be lectured.

"Alright name some then." Leonard piped up.

"Alyssa Woods, Rebecca Sullivan, Chapel has a soft spot for you though i dont think its as insane as some of these other women. John Rider, Sally Collins, oh and Pavel."

"What now?!" Leonard shot up a look of disbelief plastered on his face. "Your kidding."

"No way. But he's just a kid and Bones is an old man." Jim's eyes were blown wide as well. Alex just laughed at the sheer shock on their faces.

"You guys are so oblivious to signals it's hilarious. Guys aren't really usually Pavels first choice either" she elbowed Leonard mockingly. "Fyi he's been with alot more women than you'd think while on the ship. But if Leonard asked him to bend over his desk he'd do it in a heartbeat. Honestly whenever we get shore leave get enough drinks in him and you'll all see it."

" i didn't need the visual but damn that's not something i expected." Jim rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Also one thing youre all forgetting about Scotty. He's an engineer." She raised her brows at both men beside her with a glint of something in her eyes.

"I feel like I'm missing something, so what?" Jim frowned.

"Engineers are good with their hands, like  _really_  good with their hands. Probably the same level doctors are."

"That sounds an awful lot like personal experience coming through." Leonard poked her in the side chuckling as she jerked towards Jim instinctively.

She looked up thoughtfully for a second squinting one half of her face up. "Hmmmm… i guess?"

"What do you mean you guess? If they're that great you should have remembered-ow heyyyy" Jim whined as he was slapped square on the chest by Alex as she tried to think.

"Look it's a long story and i was, to put it bluntly, pissed out of my brains." Leonard raised a questioning eyebrow at her choice of words. "It's a british thing, i was drunk as hell."

"Well come on, spill." Jim wiggled his eyebrows at her mischievously.

"Yea you can't just leave it at 'i was pissed so i don't quite know.'" Leonard did air quotes with his hands mockingly earning him a slap to the chest as well.

"Alright fine. Haven't been with anyone since Torin not properly i've had like one successful one night stand between that time but basically. I went on a night out with my nurses, because they decided i needed to get out there. Pffft they decided i needed to get laid. There's apparently a masquerade theme going on at one of the clubs. We all get dressed up, replicate ourselves some mean masquerade masks and go to head out before they decide i need a wig because i can't go out with my normal hair, i don't know why it turned into a secret mission but it did. So we headed out dressed up and already drunk. They ended up pushing me towards any guy with a slightly defined jawline when we got there and i got bored of that real fast so i went and sat at the bar. The guy next to me was trying to get the guy working the bar's attention but was failing miserably. So being the absolute drunken mess that i am i told him to watch and learn. I flashed the guy behind the bar and the guy next to me spat his drink all over me. I definitely got the attention that i was aiming for and got served and because he spat his drink on me he bought me another drink-"

"I can see exactly where this is heading. You really do know how to pick em don't you." Leonard chuckled rubbing his eyes as he did so. "How drunk were you that you flashed the bar staff?"

"Very. Wasn't one of my proudest moments and it got me soaked in whiskey."

"C'mon that can't be it." Jim egged her on his shit eating grin somehow getting wider.

"Well, we ended up talking, found out he was an engineer and i told him i was a doctor, i got a name from him but i can't remember it for the life of me and i feel like it was a nickname. We ended up doing shots and going for a walk which was a mistake. It was fucking freezing. The only thing that kept me going was that this guy had the nicest ass in the jeans he was wearing so i bit my tongue. Ended up calling off the walk after 5 minutes. But neither of us wanted to go back to the club because it was far too loud. Ended up walking with him back to his place just chatting back and forth and i feel like we'd told each other our life stories by the time we got to the door to his apartment complex which by the way. What the hell, one of the most expensive complexes in york town, Centuria? I think that was its name and suddenly im stood there like, oh god is he gay have a picked a gay guy he didn't seem gay but now i'm panicking-"

"That's the building we stayed at while the ship was being rebuilt."

"Anyway i end up asking him if he's gay and he turns around a full on laughs at me and calls me daft before pulling me through the doors and into the lift. So there was that-"

"You're bright red. What happened in the lift."

"Shut up." Alex snapped turning a shade darker.

"Something happened in the lift." Leonard agreed loving how wound up she was getting over it all.

" _Anyway,_ we got to his room stuff started happening clothes started coming off, masks stayed on, i-i think i let him take a photo of me oh christ god knows where that is now. And yea well, i was about to actually start things properly and get on. But he only goes and passes out in the middle of his bed. Like shirt half on and trousers half pulled down it was pretty funny actually. I had to laugh or i actually might have cried at coming so close to getting laid and then being denied. So because i'm a nice person i tidied him up a bit put the covers over him and left him a glass of water and a hypo for when he woke up. Then i left."

"Shame getting blue balled after all that." Jim said head plopping to the side.

"I mean i guess."

"What do you mean you guess?" Leonard prodded her in the side again before she turned around tapping her nose at him with a smirk on her face.

"The lift."

"No way what floor was he on he had to be on a high floor to have anywhere near enough time too-" Jim was cut off momentarily by Alexs reply.

"20 something i think. Anyway-"

"HOW." The two men blurted in unison.

"I mean that'd take 2 minutes max to get to the 20th floor-"

"Jim Kirk if you interrupt me one more time-"

"Ooohhh you're in the bad books now-" Leonard chided, chuckling at the glare he received from the angry blonde.

"I give up storytime is over boys, I'd almost finished as well." She folded her arms in protest.

"Wait how was there more to the story?" Leonard questioned scooting closer again with a cocked brow. She folded her arms tighter and looked up at the icy ceiling pretending she couldn't hear him.

"Cmon doc, please." When she even ignored Jim he frowned deeper trying to think of a bargaining chip he could persuade her with. "I'll exempt you from having to send a S.A.M.R form to Bones." That got her attention, green eyes snapped over to him as Leonard huffed. A slender hand extended out to shake his.

"Deal. Alright alright where was I?" She tapped her cheek with her finger in deep thought.

"The lift? No wait, you'd just left his room i think?"

"Right. Yea i was going to try and head home despite not knowing the area too well. All i remember is i bumped into this kid that was sleep walking so i obviously tried to get him back to his room. Turned him around and started walking back down the corridor hoping there'd be an obvious open door. It was like the blind leading the blind."

"The surprises just don't end do they." Leonard chuckled rubbing at his eyes as he began laying back down. his smile growing as she carried on, confirming something he'd just realised.

"Yea well i was almost at what i thought was his room when some guy comes up behind me and asks me where the hell i think i'm going with ugh, whatever the kids name was i guess. I mean in hindsight i completely understand why he was suspicious but i didn't like his tone so i turned around and ripped into him. "

"Oh my god." Jim face palmed a grin threatening to break out on his face.

" I turned around all like 'Now listen here mister i'm a doctor whos had a pretty shitty and disappointing night, the person who brought me here turned into a patient and passed out and this kid is wandering the corridors can you please just get off my back and let me do my job'. Honestly it hardly made any sense at all like complaining about having to do my job on a night out then saying let me do my job? I'm an idiot. I wanted to kill him or jump him. Just fucking stood there with a shit eating smirk and folded arms looking at me like i was the funniest shit that had happened to him all day. I just ughhhh-" Alex made a strangling gesture with her hands as Jim laughed.

"So you wanted to slap him and Jump him at the same time, how far gone were you?" Jim questioned comical frown plastered on his face.

"What? We already established i was drunk, besides he was prettier than the other guy and taller, and he smelled nice."

"But the other guy had a masquerade mask on how do you-"

"I just know okay. Besides if a guy can rile you up without even opening his mouth… i don't know where i was going with that to be honest, but anyway. Yea, he told me to walk with him while he took the kid back to his room, i did because god damn it i wanted to know what was so funny. And make sure the kid got to his room safe of course. Then he turned around and asked me where i lived and i refused to tell him and the bastard rolled his eyes at me. Then all i remember is waking up in someone else's bed with water and a hypo next to me and a note sassing me saying something like-"

"You know your drunk when you're a doctor that needs a doctor. Yea you were a real pain in the ass. For the record, blonde is not your colour." Leonard smirked. He'd clicked on as soon as she'd mentioned Pavels sleep walking but thought he'd let her finish her little story first.

Jim started sputtering incoherently as Alex's eyes went wide in shock. Her mouth was moving but no words were coming out.

" _d e s t i n_ _y."_ Jim held his hands in the shape of a megaphone and whispered loudly, giggling inwardly at the eyeroll Bones gave him. 

"Do you realise how strange it looked? A masked women leading Pavel down an empty corridor at 3am?" Leonard chided, eyebrows raised as laughter danced in his eyes. He couldn't describe the look on her face at all, it was like a mixture between shock and dismay before she finally cracked.

"Don't look at me." She covered her face with her hands trying hard to stop the embarrassment from showing and failing miserably. She knew just how red she was. She couldn't believe this. A couple of stray tears streamed down her face as she squeezed her eyes shut, she wasn't upset or anything but my god did she want to crawl in a hole and die. Why out of all the people in the universe did it have to be him. "Oh my god i can't believe this."

"I definitely can Bones and Chekov were both on the 23rd floor so… it fits." Jim grinned not being able to contain his laughter anymore he started chuckling to himself as he lifted one of Alex's hands away from her face and prodded her in the cheek getting in quite close to her face before saying. "What was that about wanting to Jump Bones's bones?"

"Shut upppp!" Snatching her hand away she returned it to her face as Jim continued laughing beside her. She could feel the small vibrations from Leonard chuckling beside her, not realising he was still tucked in quite close to her body.

"I've never seen you this red in the face before." Leonard poked at her cheeks where her hands were failing to cover.

"I'm allergic to assholes!" she squealed lifting her hands off her face to glare at him.

"My god you're crying as well, I'm definitely using this against you in the future."

"Oh my god no you're both sworn to secrecy."

"Not happening im telling Sulu, Chekov and Scotty when we get back on board. This is comedy gold. Still though whoever that guy was, two minutes is insane, good on him." Jim rubbed his hands together like a greedy child.

"Noooo what if hes on the ship and rumours get out? I don't want to embarrass him by letting the entire ship know he passed out."

"I think that part may be looked over by the Lift situation." Leonard winked. "If anything he'll get an ego boost, anddd you could get that picture back he took of you."

"Oh god today just keeps getting worse. We wouldn't even be able to recognise each other! What if I've bumped into him before? I'm going to be so paranoid for the rest of the journey."

"I think the rumour of you and Bones getting together would scare him off from making anything awkward, i think you're safe." Jim chuckled again before laying down flat on his back glancing over at Spock nonchalantly only just noticing his eyes were open. "Oh morning spock how long have you been awake?"

"Since Dr Reid started telling her story, i just chose to listen rather than comment at every interval like yourself and Dr Mccoy." Spock's hair was a mess again and Jim couldn't help but want to run his hands through it.

"You're getting too good at sassing people Spock." Jim pouted frowning down at the vulcan with a fake hurt expression on his face.

"It would be relatively easy to find out who the mystery engineer was. You just simply need to find the names of all the people that stayed on the 23rd floor with and estimate of the time frame of which the incident occured." Spock speculated. Turning to face the group with a noticeable amount of stubble starting to make its presence known.

"I'd honestly rather not Spock."

"Id sure as hell like to know who it was." Leonard spat out, he'd have to pick the guys brains.

"Same here, alright here's the plan we find out who the guy was when we get back on the ship but don't tell Alex who it is. Or the guy that it was her. We need a fake story." Jim stroked his chin vigorously looking past everyone in front of him deep in thought. "We'll think of something when were back on the ship but right now i wanna know what happened in the parts you can't remember after you refused to tell Bones where you lived."

"Well i don't. Like really i don't want to know what i did do we have ear plugs because if you're gunna discuss this i want out." Alex looked mortified with her eyebrows raised high and her lips set in a tight line.

"It's not my story to tell." Bones raised both hands in defeat.

"Boringgggg. Anyway, guys i've been thinking about having some kinda of event monthly that would raise crew morale without distracting from people doing their jobs, like…" Jim hummed as he tapped his forehead. "A singing competition or something along those lines?"

"That sounds interesting." Alex chimed in raising an eyebrow in curiosity at her captain.

"The monthly basis would give an acceptable amount of time for preparation and time in between each event to not cause distraction to the crews work ethic." Spock added looking at Jim with that not smile that he did regularly. The four of them jumped when Jims comm started ringing out of nowhere. Jim snatching it up in an instant and flicking it open to hear Scotties voice coming through loud and clear.

"Captain we have a lock on your life signs we only have a couple of minutes at most to get you beamed back aboard, with your permission Sir i'd like to get you lot off that god forsaken planet asap."

"Do it scotty, energise."

"No wait!" Alex shouted scrambling for her shirt knowing fine well if it wasn't on their person it wouldn't be beamed up with them. Jim looked over at her horrified at his mistake as he felt the tug on their atoms faintly hearing Bones swearing across from him.

There was a loud screech as they re energised on the transporter pad Scotty going from grinning to immediately looking down at the console the same as the ensign assisting him. Spock had moved like lighting and was stood in front of her in a flash, offering her as much privacy from prying eyes as he could not so much as flinching when he felt her cling to his back lightly.

"Mr Scott your shirt, please." Spock noted how Jim and Leonard joined him, stood at either side of him forming a wall.

Scotty couldn't hide the crimson blush on his face as he tugged his over shirt off in an instant tossing it over to Spock without a word. Spock passing it behind him with a grace scotty wouldn't be able to muster if their positions were switched. "I am so sorry lass, i didn't think."

"It's okay Monty, it was an honest mistake. I'll get this back to you before Jaylah comes too hunt me down." Alex waved him off with a smile as she came out from the barricade of broad shoulders and bare chests. Everyone slowly relaxing again after the tense seconds on arrival.

"I'm not quite certain what you mean by that lass-"

"Oh i see, i won't say a word." Alex winked at him waltzing off her hands strategically folded over her chest to offer some kind of support as she headed back to her quarters to change. Humming cheerily as she went, Leonard couldn't help the small smile that appeared as he watched her waltz away before he stepped off the transporter pad towards scotty. The smuggest look on his face as he nodded towards the man before leaning on the console.

"So, why havent i recieved an S.A.M.R form from you or Jaylah?" Leonard could see the heat still in scotties cheeks. It didn't help the mans case that he was struggling for words.

"Do those markings stretch all over her body i've always been curious-" Jim was cut off by a string of curse words as scotty swatted at them both.

"I ain't talkin to either of ya till you put a damn shirt on now get out of my face! And you can shut up aswell ya wee bastard I'll have you stuffed up in the Jeffrie tubes for a week!"

The three men left the transporter room together Leonard and Jim wearing matching shit eating grins as they all headed towards the turbo lift.

"He better send me those forms. Or i'll be going down there to get them myself."

"I don't know why i'm surprised to be honest, it was obviously going to happen sooner or later they definitely had a thing for eachother."

"Isn't he meant to be training her? Is that allowed if she's working under him." Leonard frowned looking at Jim for confirmation only to receive the cockiest glare.

"Don't be such a hypocrite Bones, you're one incident away from being involved with someone that's working under you yourself." Jim chided smirking at the frown that formed on his friends face.

"But thats different Doctor Reid's qualified, Jaylah is pretty much a cadet learning on the job."

"Its bad that it gives me the heebie jeebies when you use her formal title. You need to remember to keep some sort of professionalism in the workplace Bones or things could get a tad out of hand." Bones raised a brow at that not realising they'd been so informal and casual while on the job.

"It is amusing to me how you are both so easily distracted from a detail that is most intriguing."

"What are you talking about Spock?" Jim turned seeing that pale chest and shoulders had him shivering for a second before regaining his composure.

"The name in which Doctor Reid referred to Mr Scott."

"Scotty? What's weird about that?" Jim frowned.

"Incorrect captain. Un surprising as Mr Scott didn't pick up on the mistake instantly himself, so it obviously wouldn't cause surprise to anyone else bearing witness." Spock spoke as if he was a private detective pointing out how stupid the general police officers were for not noticing the importance of a stray piece of evidence.

"Spock get to the point." Bones grumbled as they all piled into the lift.

"She referred to him as 'Monty'. I have not heard any crew member refer to him this way before as of yet, i understand that this is most probably a mistake on Dr Reid's behalf and the possibility that it is in fact another nickname for Mr Scott are at 62.7% but…" Spock sighed, the signature eyebrow present as he raised his hand to his mouth in thought at his next words. "If i were human i would say that it seemed 'odd' to me."

Jim and Bones mouthed the words to each other in silence, frowns present on both their faces. Spock was right it did sound odd. It felt different to calling him scotty. Something about the way it rolled off the tongue.

"It doesn't sound right. Maybe he has another nickname that he hasn't told us about? She might have overheard it being used by someone else. And related that word to Scotty and used that nickname by mistake. If theres a sense of familiarity between two people the brain sometimes doesn't click on to differentiate between certain names that its given that person, it's just not something we're always conscious of." Bones frowned to himself going through the reasoning in his head before Jim slapped him on his arm.

"Bones, what if she does relate that name to him because of a sense of familiarity but hasn't consciously realised why or that she's even been referring to him as it." Jims eyes started to widen as things started to fit together. The elevator pinged and they all stepped out turning a lot of heads in there state of undress.

"What are you trying to say Jim?"

"Monty, doesn't it feel… inappropriate when we say it? Almost too personal." Jim watched Bones stop dead in the middle of the hallway as everything clicked into place at once the look on his face absolutely un readable.

"That son of a-"

"If i've just got my shirt back how are you fellas' still roaming about topless?" came the all to familiar scottish accent as scotty stopped in front of the three of them obviously on his way back to engineering.

Without so much as a word Jim and Bones hooked one arm under the slightly shorter mans arms and proceeded to drag him towards Leonards quarters the scotsman fighting the entire way there, which luckily for them was only a couple of steps. Throwing him into the room they abruptly locked the door each finding a shirt to throw on as they frowned towards each other trying to figure out what they were going to do with him now they had him.

"Which plan are we going with don't tell either of them or only tell one?" Jim whispered to Bones as the older man pulled his uniform shirt on over his head. Ignoring the shouting from scotty who was starting to stand up from his seat before Jim pushed him back down again gently.

"Well we've just dragged him in here he already knows somethings up we're probably gunna have to tell him, not sure how she'll take the news, i wouldn't think to badly but we can decide in that at a later date." Bones grumbled as they both nodded at each other in agreement before turning their attention to scotty who was red in the face and angry as hell.

"We know something you don't know, but before we tell you why you're in here i need to ask you a couple of questions scotty." Jim sat down across from him on the small sofa feeling the space next to him sink down slightly as Leonard joined him.

"I demand to know what the hell is going on, i have bloody work to be doing and you've gone and dragge-"

"Did you go to a masquerade themed night out while we were back at yorktown?" Leonard growled getting annoyed at how un co-operative Scotty was being. Honestly, if Scotty was the guy from the lift then he wouldn't be too fussed, it could have been anyone on the ship. Not that he liked the fact that it had happened, but it was in the past, it was a one time thing and clearly not something that either of them had intended to happen again. Hell if Dr Reid hadn't been needed on the enterprise none of them would have ever known and Leonard probably definitely wouldn't be involved with her himself. It was just one of those things, certain people brought together and things had happened previously. That was life.

Scotty stammered for a second before frowning his rage seemingly abated for now. "Now lads what is this about because i swear i didn't do anything illegal that night if anyones been saying anything about me its a lie."

Leonard couldn't help but laugh at this leaning forward holding his head in his hands. "No no i don't think they've been lying somehow. You took someone home that night didn't you Scotty?" Leonard raised a questioning brow. Watching the different variants of confusion wash over the mans face.

"A might have, i still don't see where this is going." Scotty eyed them both cautiously leaning back in his chair as if he could catch the crazy from them.

Jim leaned forward deciding enough time had been wasted he needed the key details the thing that would be on every guys mind that didn't have the information scotty possesed. " How the hell did you get her off in less than 2 minutes in a lift of all places there's barely any room to mov-"

"Whoa whoa whoa what now how on earth-"

"We need to know, not because we aren't good at well you know...but it's just something we need to know. As men." Jim stuttered out hands clapped together as he spoke leaning even further forward on the sofa to the point of nearly falling off it.

"You really needed to throw me in here to question me about the antics of a one night stand? I don't even know her name or id send you to her for the details." Scotty leaned forward a quizzical look on his face as his eyes darted from one man to the other.

"You see we've already heard it from her, but she left out the details just made it really clear that engineer's are good with their hands." Bones added watching scotty's face change from confusion to slight worry.

"Why do you look worried scotty she only said good things about you, and just so you don't freak out she has no idea it's you who were the guy from the story. Well you could probably call it one night stand but you did pass out before anything ended up happening right?"

"Takin' the piss is no way to go about getting advice on foreplay technique now is it. And big deal i passed out, she was an easy lass to talk too nd the drinks went down a little too easy, aight hold up now, who is it then since you've obviously been talkin' with her." Scotty frowned before he gave too much information away.

"We'll tell you if you tell us your secret." Jim deadpanned, he didn't know why he needed this knowledge he just did. He needed to know if it was something he didn't know.

"I mean i don't really need to know I'm already pretty good with my hands." Leonard grumbled before frowning at scotty. "Go on though, I'm curious if it's any different to the usual."

Scotty sighed leaning back in his chair for a second before leaning back towards the pair obviously feeling slightly uncomfortable at being pushed into discussing these type of details. Now if he was drunk it'd be another story all together. "Aghh fine, you're both a weird pair i hope you know that." Scotty sighed rubbing his hand over his eyes momentarily before looking back at the pair. "It's mostly pressure control, you gotta make sure you're not pressing down too hard but also not so light that they're not gunna feel anythin'. Especially when you're on a time limit, nd then you know… side to side at a wrist breaking pace." Scotty coughed awkwardly.

"Oh i thought it was gunna be something weirder than that, easier to do that with the middle finger though, you try that with your index you're gunna get cramp in your wrist a lot faster or worse accidently curl your finger." Bones chipped in Jim genuinely surprised at how relaxed his best friend was as he looked up at him in shock. He didn't know Bones would have this type of knowledge, honestly sometimes he forgot Bones was a being that had sex. Whats worse was that this was something new to Jim. Out if all the women he'd slept with he'd never tried that.

"Exactly." Scotty relaxed a little at Leonards input. "I mean obviously you dont want to be rushing like that all the time nd it helps if they're already into it, but-"

"How have i not tried this…" Jim whispered cutting Scotty off abruptly as the engineer and doctor both turned to stare at him.

"Well if i'm honest lad you normally find out little things like that from the women themselves, especially if you've been in a long term relationship." Scotty shrugged his shoulders nodding towards Leonard as the doctor nodded back to him.

"Yea, it's a technique women use themselves if they're in a rush, don't worry about it jimbo some women don't like talking about that type of stuff even when they're sleeping with the guy, stupid if you ask me." Leonard clamped him on the shoulder to comfort him. Jim knee his friends were right but he still felt cheated out of vital information that would have made numerous ladies time with him better. Especially in those rushed moments.

"Who is it then i've shared my knowledge you said you'd tell me who it was. I'd quite like to apologise to her for passing out if I'm honest, if we ever go back to york town that is if i ever bump into her again."

"Dr Reid." Leonard spoke with a smug smirk plastered on his face. Scotty just frowned at him rolling his eyes.

"Im not bloody colour blind i can tell a red head from a blonde."

"That exactly why you haven't recognised her, mask and a blonde wig. Oh and that photo you took. She'd appreciate it if you deleted it, nd so would I." Leonard raised a brow as the colour drained from Scotties face.

"No, i don't believe you i-"

"You didn't notice when she called you Monty in the transporter room earlier?" Jim chipped in, freaking scotty out had to be one of his favorite things to do.

"Well i- that's the name i gave her." Scotty was slowly going redder and redder as he sat there.

"Well this is just great now isn't it i'm not gunna be able to look at her the same way ever again i knew id seen her t-"

"Alright watch it, stop getting boob nostalgia it's weird. We know the story, and she has no idea that it was you, she was on some sort of mission that night i swear to god."

"Wait how would you know?" Scotty frowned watching as Jim leaned back and started laughing.

"He bumped into her after she left your room trying to lead pavel back to his room because he was sleepwalking. Ended up having to let her sleep at his place because she refused to tell a stranger her address." Jim elbowed Leonard as he spoke.

"And that's a story that im thankful even she doesn't remember, i think the embarrassment would kill her."

A knock at the door pulled all three of them out of their thoughts as Leonard told the door to open.  _Speak of the devil and she will appear._

"Yooo- ohh have i interrupted something because i can totally come back later. I just brought some of these by because you still haven't went through them honestly Leonard some of them aren't even that tedious." She nodded down to the pile of data pads she was holding and Leonard just sighed.

"Just put them down over there somewhere or on my bed where i sleep that's fine too i guess." Leonard rolled his eyes at her though he was secretly appreciating the re appearance of the uniform dress. Looking over at Scotty he could see the man turning a deeper shade of red as his eyes snapped away from the display in front of him.

"So Monty, as i was saying you're gunna have to take into consideration next time that not all members of an away team are always going to be male." Jim watched as Dr Reid snapped around with a frown plastered on her face.

"All due respect captain that's not fair, he had minutes to get us back on board in a opening in the storm id say he made- did you just call him Monty?" Confusion flashed across her face for a second as Scotty seethed quietly in his chair so close to ripping into Jim and Bones as Leonard chuckled quietly avoiding eye contact with everyone and staring at the ground while Jim played his little game.

"That's what you called him isnt it doc? In the transporter room?... And the lift?"

"You fuckin' bastard." Scotty snapped standing up from his chair in defiance "What was the point in that?" Scotty was so preoccupied he missed her moment of realisation as she slapped a hand over her mouth and her eyes went wide. Leonard watched as her cheeks went pink and she looked down at Leonard and Jim with suspicious glares before returning her eyes to scotty. Walking round slightly till she had a clearer view of his ass, a smirk plastered on her face as she looked back up.

"Hey Montyyy." She dragged the name out as she sashayed towards him, noticing the colour drain from his face and the way he pulled at his collar that was suddenly feeling very tight.

"Aye lass, what is it?" Scotty could only thank whatever gods there might be that his voice didn't break as he spoke. Or when she tugged at his sleeve pulling him away from the other two men just far enough so that they couldn't hear what she was whispering into his ear. Only scotties short replies.

"Ah do they really? Well thankyou lass i-" Leonard watched as Scotty turned crimson before his final response. "Aye, i can definitely sort that out for you."

"Thanks scotty." She smiled as he left the doors sliding shut behind him as Jim fiddled with a data padd.

"Gunna get spock down here for a quick debriefing of this mission hope you don't mind Bones, since most of us are already here." Jim set the data padd down on the coffee table before sitting back on his spot on the sofa, looking up to wiggle his eyebrows at Dr Reid as she waltzed over and took what was scotties seat. "So, Monty huh? Are you planning on sleeping with all the heads of faculty? Because fyi, im the captain head of all departments and of the ship, just saying." He ignored the eye roll he got from Bones as the red head fiddled with a loose strand of hair a small laugh escaping her lips as she sat back.

"I think I'd have a little trouble with Spock he seems slightly unsure of himself in that department at the moment. Besides if i was planning on doing that, I've definitely went about things in the wrong order." Leonard snorted at that not missing the smirk falter for a split second on Jims face when Spocks internal confusion was mentioned.

"What do you mean he's unsure of himself?" Jim tilted his head in curiosity as Alex laughed before she stopped and considered him for a second when he didn't stop his questioning gaze.

"You both really are oblivious aren't you?" she said quietly before the computer announced Mr Spock was at the door, the doors swung open and the previous discussion was forgotten instantly as Jim practically started the debriefing as soon as Spock had sat down.

* * *

_"Okay but you still havent told me the details of this first kiss, and the fact you've been practically buzzing all day it must have been good." Nyota wiggled her eyebrows as she lounged back in her chair glass of wine hovering just in front of her mouth._

_"The last time i talked about him you made weird noises because you couldn't see him like that and now you want to know the dirty details." Alex laughed taking a sip from her dangerously close to empty glass as Nyota gave a small pout in protest._

_"That's only because i've known him so long and have never seen him as anything than a close friend, I'll admit he's attractive. But its Leonard! I kinda wanna know just for the sake of knowing. What has he been hiding under that grumpy exterior. I'm nosey and im single, indulge me."_

_"Alright alright but only because i understand your struggle." Alex sighed watching as Nyota leaned forward in her chair slightly an eyebrow cocked in anticipation. "I pushed him into a supply cupboard because he was being really stressy."_

_"Oh my god, i dont think im ready to hear this…Continue." Nyota had a mischievous smirk in place as she sipped her rosé pulling her feet up into the spacious armchair as if settling in for a long story._

_Alex laughed at her before looking to the floor and going a little pink. "It was so dark in there, it was really nice like i don't know what to say, it wasn't exactly heated at first-"_

_Nyota made a small squealing sound as she shuffled her chair closer, it was the first time Alex had seen her this excited over something she was normally very calm and collected. But Alex supposed since this was their second time truly hanging out alone after work she'd definitely be more relaxed. "So it did get heated then?"_

_Alex couldn't help the giggle that escaped her, she realised she sounded like a teenage girl talking about their crush but she didn't care. The wine must have been getting to them both._

_"Well… he had me pressed up against the wall with his thigh between my legs, god it was-i really don't know how i haven't gave in and jumped him yet." Alex paused looking over at Nyota who seemed to be zoned out. She smirked to herself as she put her wine glass down on the table mischief dancing in her eyes as Nyota nonchalantly took a sip of her wine. "Did you know your chief medical officer is packing heat?"_

_Nyota spat the wine out in surprise her eyes wide as she struggled to breathe through a coughing fit, patting her chest repeatedly with a smile tugging at her lips as Alex cackled across from her. "Alex!" Nyota carried on laughing trying to gracefully wipe up the left overs of her drink that was currently running down her chin. "How do you know, you know what no. Nope, don't even answer that i don't want to know… Really?"_

_"Yup. Might go surprise him after this in his quarters." Alex wiggled her eyebrows wearing the smuggest of smirks._

_"You're an animal. Has he seen the video yet?"_

_Alex shook her head, shaking some curls loose from her bobble in the process. "No i don't think so, he's normally pretty behind on ship related stuff isn't he?" She chuckled swirling the pink liquid in her glass around gently._

_"Yea he is, but it's easy to see in those videos that you're good for him.- ah shhh no im serious, im getting all real on you for a second. Ive never seen him smile so much in such a short period of time, not in a genuine way i mean he does those smirks but they don't count. You really are perfect for eachother. Alex, he cares. Not like any other guy you've been with, if i know Leonard when he likes someone, when he cares, it's all or nothing…" Nyota looked into her empty glass and sighed the atmosphere feeling a little more delicate than it had before. Her scarcely decorated room feeling a tad colder than it had a few seconds ago. "Maybe that's the doctor in him i don't know but... just don't hurt him." Nyota knew about Leonard's past from Jim drunkenly rambling to her one night in york town. And had got snippets of info from the doctor himself but he'd never went into much detail. She looked up to meet clear green eyes staring back at her thoughtfully, the most honest and open look on her face._

_"I don't think i could even if i wanted too." Alex smiled softly, the memory of Leonard's face as he spoke about his little girl flashed behind her eyes. He looked so proud, anyone could tell that that little girl was the center of his universe, the way his eyes lit up when he was reminiscing to her not so long ago whilst they shared her bed had her heart melting. There was something so utterly pure about leonards love for his daughter, a stark contrast to the exterior he put out to most people, even to the people closest to him he was still always partly guarded and shut off. Alex hoped that kid knew how much her dad loved her._

_"Oh there's something else as well. I just need to share it with someone because holy mother of god, that man." She pulled down the collar of her dress to reveal the still prominent red love bites that littered her neck. Nyota gaped at them with a questioning look on her face and one of slight jealousy._

_"In the cupboard?" Was all she managed subconsciously running a hand gracefully down her own neck._

_"Nope. It's been a very long day, this was whilst he was infected with the pathogen. Computer beamed both of us back to his quarters from the med bay instead of just him. If it were anyone else i would have put a complaint in to get the computer checked for faults but good lord…" Alex wafted her face with a hand as she grew hot around the collar remembering what had happened._

_"What was he like? i mean obviously you didn't do the deed but." Nyota waved a hand signalling for her to continue. Alex pulled her knees up in the chair wrapping her arms around them and hugging them into her chest thoughtfully._

_Looking over at Nyota she let out a shaky breath. "He was looking at me like he was starved man and i was dessert… it was intense. He couldn't stand being away from me by any distance, i mean i should have been scared. But i wasn't. He was still Leonard, maybe not in control but i can't explain it, it-"_

_"It was something in his eyes." Nyota nodded giving the red head a knowing look._

_"Exactly…" Alex tilted her head curiously._

_"It's amazing when they get like that, you feel like you're the only girl in the world when they're looking at you like that." Nyota sighed as if she was reminiscing. Alex didn't question her on it knowing it was possible this was about Spock and she didn't want to force her new friend to talk about something she wasn't ready too just yet._

_Nyota straightened up a little and pointed at Alex accusingly. "Don't you dare go see him tonight you said you'd help me win the bet."_

* * *

"What are you giggling at? Something funny in these pile of reports that im missing?" Leonard grumbled dragging Alex out of her thoughts in an instant. Looking back down ate the data padd on the bed infront of her she sighed.

"No i was just laughing remembering something from before the mission is all, hod im so bored i keep reading the same line like four times before it goes in." She whined rolling from her front onto her back as she star fished on Leonards double bed, hearing the man chuckle from across the room.

"Well once this is all done we have the entire rest of the day off till our rotas get switched around, you have met M'benga before right?" Leonard questioned glancing over at her over the rims of his glasses. Apparently he was too embarrassed that he needed them to wear them in the med bay, god forbid someone think of him as a nerd.

"Fun. And yea i have, also i really don't see the issue with the whole glasses situation, you suit them. They make you look smarter as well." Alex turned back onto her front, elbows propping her face up as she looked over at him smiling. He sniggered in response without so much as looking up.

"They make me look old."

"They make you look like the hot Biology teacher whos banging the English teacher. Yea you basically look like the personification of porn." Alex raised a mischievous eyebrow at him as he looked over at her and cocked a questioning brow at her, yet again looking over the rims of his glasses. Sending a shiver down her spine, she really did like the whole glasses look on him. "Do you actually realise that you make peoples ovaries explode?"

And then all of a sudden he was laughing, taking the glasses off momentarily to rub at his eyes so no tears dirtied his lenses. It was the type of laugh that you can't help but grin at, the type where you replay it in your head over and over just to watch that smile and the crinkle of their eyes knowing you did that. It was one of those rare seemingly random precious moments that you'd always remember, even though the other person would think of it as insignificant. "You have a way with words, and if that's true it's a good job i don't wear them in the med bay we don't need extra casualties." Leonard chuckled pushing the glasses back up his nose with a tiny smile plastered on his face.

Suddenly Alex's padd started ringing as she looked down at it in bewilderment before looking back up at Leonard who was looking confused yet curious. "Do you mind if i answer this i can leave if you-"

"Go ahead, don't worry about it." He waved her off, looking back at the data padd he was reading while she clicked that answer call button.

A familiar face popped onto the screen, wrinkled green speckled eyes staring back at her with thick brown brows and a full head of slightly greying brown hair with a messy beard.

"Oh would you look at that my favorite daughter is alive and not dead floating around in the vacuum of space."

"I'm your only daughter." She sighed resisting the urge to face palm at how dramatic he was being in the first 5 seconds of their call. "Hi dad."

"You said you'd call two days ago Ace don't 'hi dad' me, i've been sat here thinking you've probably been eaten by aliens." The man gestured wildly rolling up the sleeves of his old white shirt as he moved around.

"You know when people ask me why I'm so dramatic i blame you, i hope you know that. Anyway I'm alive, got stuck on a mission, i was going to call later on today!" She raised her voice slightly as he started tutting at her on her screen.

"I see how it is your old man has been replaced, who is he? Hmm? And don't give me the i've been working excuse you have no proof!"

"Dad im literally surrounded by data padds right now i was going through reports, why are you like thissss."

"I'm just messing with you Ace, i know you're working hard, but for real though if you are harboring a man up there in space he better not be vulcan or it won't just be his ass I'll be kicking. Don't roll your eyes at me young lady i-"

"Yea well guess whos on the ship." She widened her eyes sarcastically causing her dad to back away from the screen slightly looking at her cautiously.

"No way… You're serious?"

"Yup, he has a wife and kid now. Honestly dad it's no big deal alsong as he stays outta my way there won't be an issue."

"Aye well we both know he's not very bloody good at doing that dont we. Pointy prick."

Alex hissed at her screen glaring at her data padd. "Dad you can't just go around saying stuff like that." Leonard was doing his best not to laugh from across the room, it was so blatantly obvious they were related it was almost comical to an outsider looking in.

"I'm allowed to not like the guy, you'll understand once you have kids of your own."

"Oh here we go." Alex muttered to herself, almost forgetting that leonard was in the room till she glanced up to see him quietly chuckling into his hand. Bastard.

"Speaking of which Ace, grandkids? You're getting on a bit now you know, two years from now you're gunna be Thirty. I want some little sprog running around the place, your brothers are starting to piss me off."

"It's your own fault for letting them back into the house. Hows that working out for you by the way? With Jacob being married now and all?"

"Well she doesn't stay here often thank god. There are certain things a father should not hear- oi Jacob what the hell those are mine you don't even like them, off off-"

"Hey Jacob you have sound proofing installed in the guestroom how about you use it! Nobody wants to hear that!" Alex half shouted down the mic hoping her brother would hear her. Leonard heard the smaller voice in the background pipe up rather excitedly with something like 'is that Ace?' Before there was a rustling sound as at data padd was stolen from her dad's hands.

"You're one to talk, hows it going pinning after your boss? You know if you sleep with him it doesn't guarantee promotion right." Came the younger but still deep voice of her brother brown eyes and messy blonde hair filled the screen as he wore a shit eating grin. Leonard choked on his drink. The colour from Alex's face drained as she hissed towards the screen.

"Whos that in the background choking you should probably help them." Jacob chimed in looking slightly concerned and then confused as he heard the sound of a man laughing in the background of his sisters audio stream. "Nice that guy knows I'm right as well."

"Jacob that is my boss." she emphasized trying not to laugh herself as Leonard continued with random bursts of quiet laughter as he cleaned up the mess he'd just made. "And hey i've never slept with anyone to get a promotion get your facts right!"

"First time for everything Ace, anyway gotta go, Foods calling and dad's glaring at me. Peace." Jacob was replaced with a tired eyed Mr Reid as he rubbed his eyes as his face came back into focus on the screen.

"You never listen to my advice do you, don't date within your faculty. But you gotta one up me. I give up. He's gunna have a lot on his plate if you're putting yourself on it as well, i knew you weren't working, for the record."

"Oh my god dad i am working look." She flipped the camera around for a second to show the stack of data padds around her. "And shush you don't even listen to your own advice half the time and quit calling me a handful in old man terms! Anyway gotta go dad, love you. I'll call again soon."

"Love you too sweetheart, don't do anything i wouldn't do." Came the comforting rumble of her dad's voice before the video and audio feed cut off signalling the end of the call.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Alex said to nobody

In particular as she tossed her personal padd to the side and sighed.

"So Ace huh? Thats cute." Leonard commented sneakily avoiding the glare he was receiving.

"Why thankyou Horatio, i quite like it as well." The frown she got for that was murderous as she laughed and got back to her work. A couples of minutes of comfortable silence went by before she sighed getting up and walking over to the replicator making herself a coffee. "Want anything?"

"Nah im good, thanks." Leonard sighed putting the padd on his lap for a second. And stretching his arms out on the back of the couch, letting his eyes shut for a little while. "Actually black coffee would be great, i know we've spent two days in bed but i'm so tired."

Alex hummed in response as she took a sip from her coffee and punched in the code for a black coffee simultaneously. "I know it sucks. Atleast we don't have to deal with backache tonight, i mean i love sleeping and being lazy but that was just too much." Alex plonked herself down on the couch next to him sitting his cup gently on the coffee table for when he decided to finally open his eyes. "How long have Spock and Jim been a thing by the way?"

"Haha they aren't, you know what's funny? Jim only realised recently that he liked the pointy eared bastard. Looking at them is like watching an old married couple ill never for the life of me understand how they're both so stupid for such intelligent people." Leonard opened his eyes turning his head to where his right arm was still stretched out across the top of the couch and resting on slender shoulders. He watched her giggle into her coffee before he smiled and slyly took the bobble out of her hair just so he could wind some of the ringlets around his free hand.

"I think that's why Nyota broke it off with Spock. Jim seems to be the only one that can get any sort of emotion out of him, i think i stopped them from kissing the first morning in the sleeping bag i woke up at the wrong moment. All i saw when i opened my eyes was Spock shutting every sign of feeling down."

"Christ, well you have a point Jim is the only one that seems to be able to rile him up good and proper, or make the guy cry even if it was under grave circumstances."

"Spock cried?" she held her mug with both hands, looking up at Leonard with a soft expression on her face.

"Yea, we don't tend to bring it up ever. It was when uh, Jim died. Spock was with him when he died of radiation poisoning. Scotty told me that he was crying before he lost his shit. You didn't hear that from me though, dont think Spock would appreciate over hearing a conversation centred around that." Leonard shivered lightly, his voice going a decibel lower than usual as he remembered seeing Jims lifeless body. God that mission had nearly killed a fair few of them. It wasn't something any of them talked about if he was honest, how uncertain the days that followed were. Everyone was supporting each other while somehow at the same time being the most isolated they had been from each other in months.

"Any other crew would have been destroyed by that mission, physically and emotionally."

"Yea, that mission had me nearly calling it quits." Leonard sighed taking a sip of his coffee as he stared at the wall in front of him. His mind not even in the same room as his body.

"Lucky for you you won't have to run yourself into the dirt trying to look out for everyone from now on. Because damn it, i won't have that... Your too good for that." She finished in a whisper, staring into her empty coffee mug as if it was the blackest black hole shed ever seen and it wouldn't stop pulling her in. He stared at her in awe for a second, she hadn't even been here a year and she knew, without any first hand experience exactly what he was like. She just knew, without a doubt or hesitation in her mind, this woman. This wonderful woman, could read him like a book, and something in him finally broke.

"You're too good for me." His tone was soft, yet it felt heavy as the words came out, the sadness in that tone was something she couldn't bare. Looking up she saw Leonard staring right at her, his mouth set in a straight line and his eyes were melancholy, the chocolatey brown and green speckled eyes turned too mud, cold and dry dirt, lifeless. There was a vulnerability right there that she'd never seen before, this strong, kind man who had to be strong when nobody else could was too proud to ask for help. Not a soul to truly confide in or a shoulder to cry on because like her, they were the ones that made things better for everyone else. They were the shoulder that everyone cried on. Considering they were healers, they were both very broken up on the inside.

"Hey." She cooed softly her brow knitting together in worry as she raised a hand to his face, rubbing a thumb over the stubble on his cheek as she held him steady. "Don't talk like that, you have me, I'm here, you deserve everything you want and i'm not going anywhere." She leaned up un folding her legs from under her, swinging her leg over him she wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled into him till she felt him give in, arms tightened around her back and a heavy head fell onto her shoulder gently pushing its way into the crook of her neck. Rubbing gentle circles into his back she held back tears, she didn't know when she'd finally fell for him, but she knew she wouldn't let him go, just for the simple fact alone that knowing he was hurting so much and that he'd not had a soul to comfort him, to hold him, was making her want to cry, and as she felt him suck in a shaky breath, she did. Silently letting the tears fall to be soaked up by her uniform sleeve. _It's okay Leonard it's okay, i promise it's going to be okay, you're not alone anymore. I'm right here, I'm right here._

"I'm not going anywhere." She whispered dropping gentle kisses on his clothed shoulder. "You're stuck with me, now i'm gunna warn you, there are some terms and conditions that need need to be met and signed off on before-" She was shut up by lips on hers before she was met with warm brown eyes looking at her like she was his favorite person.

"You talk too much… but i agree to the terms and conditions, just so long as you don't go having anymore lift affairs with Scotty." Leonard smiled wide at the small giggle and grin she wore as he kissed the tip of her nose. "Now miss i'm sorry for the inconvenience but can you re convene somewhere else there's work that needs finishing' before we finally get to sleep."


	14. Bump and grind

**Ahem**.

Please please please take it easy on me i dont have anyone to read through my work and really dont think im that good at writing smutty things to any degree. I trieddddddd. Like i tried really hard and re read everything trying to make sure it flowed well enough.

Ugh anyway i hope you enjoy.

_if you didnt catch on, theres smut ahead, quite alot of it actually. ;)_

* * *

Bones woke up with an awful pain in his neck as he straightened himself up and lifted himself off the couch, the data padd in his lap falling to the floor causing something to stir over in his bed. It'd help if the lights hadn't went automatically into night mode. As his eyes adjusted he could make out that it was Alex laid the right way up on the bed for once with a data padd laying flimsily across her chest and one near her sprawled out hand, she was sound asleep. They really shouldn't have tried finishing all the reports today after getting back from a mission. Leonard stepped out of his trousers and pulled his shirt over his head throwing them both at the couch as he plodded over to her, gently taking the data padds away from her and putting them on the bedside table.

"Hey, hey it's just me, we fell asleep, do me a favour and lift up for a second-there we go." Leonard managed to wiggle the duvet out from under the half asleep redhead, pulling the covers over her before he walked around to his usual side of the bed. If she'd have fell asleep on that side there'd have been a problem. Pulling the duvet over himself he let out a comfortable sigh as he sunk into the pillows and mattress.  _Sleeping bags and hard floors can take a walk._ As he closed his eyes he felt a warm body shuffle up close to him before finally cuddling in and resting her head in the crook of his arm.  _Such a shame i'm up so early tomorrow, what i'd give to spend the day in bed with her just talking, without having to worry about any damn responsibilities, shore leave can't come quick enough._

Oddly enough when it was time for Leonard to wake up he felt like he was looking at the day ahead through rose tinted glasses, it had been a good while since he'd needed to tip toe around a room to avoid waking someone up, but he couldn't help but smile as he glanced over at her sleeping peacefully as he replicated his morning coffee. Hair strewn across his pillows and those delicate pink lips gently parted as slender hands wiggled their way onto the pillow across from her. Reaching out for someone that wasn't there.

Settling down at the coffee table across from his bed he pulled out a data padd and an old notebook. Checking through his emails as he sat back pausing when he realised he was holding a pen to a fresh blank page. Glancing up at her had him decided, it was too perfect of an opportunity to miss she looked angelic. He marked the page with a doctors precision, short sharp strokes accompanied by long languid ones as he captured her mane of hair in all its untamed glory. Her face sculpted yet soft in the dim white light, failing to hold back a smile as he finished up on her button nose. Sighing he put the pen down, it wasn't a masterpiece but it was something. He was just content that he'd captured the moment and her likeness perfectly, if anyone criticised his style it'd be falling on deaf ears, it worked for him, and it always had, no point in changing it up now. Finishing off his coffee he checked the time, swearing under his breath as he shoved the book and pen under the coffee table and got dressed.  _Alright, what have you got for me today silver lady._ With one last look towards the redhead in his bed he left, he'd send her a message on his padd when he got to work, she was welcome to stay in his room as long as she wanted just as long as she didn't trash the place.

Hours later Alex woke up wrapped in warmth and thanked the gods that she wasn't working till the so called night shift,she could technically nap all day. Reaching out towards Leonard she groaned when she was met with cold emptiness.  _He's at work you moron._  Without leaving the covers she grabbed her padd from the bedside table smiling as she read the message he'd sent her.  _Good, i wasn't planning on rushing out of here anyway._ Her fingers danced across the keyboard as she shuffled herself deeper into the blankets warmth only her eyes peeking out from the blanket.

**##########**

**Would you be mad of i used your shower? I have just slept in my uniform is all.**

**-ADR**

**##########**

**Go for it, just make sure you lock the door, Jims got a tendency to show up in my room at the most inconvenient times. Spare towels should be under the sink.**

**-LHM**

**##########**

**Gotcha. Look at me using your shower, now we're even more official, officially official. Do you have cameras in here? Because im feeling very exposed right now.**

**-ADR**

**##########**

**If i was still there i'd be taking it to a whole new level of official. Don't be stupid of course there isn't any cameras in there witch. Get your damn shower and when your done i wanna know what food you like, i was serious about taking you out when shore leave comes back around.**

**-LHM**

**##########**

**You want the first time to be in the shower? I can get behind that. But alright back in a few, get on with your work Leonard!**

**-ADR**

**##########**

Leonard rolled his eyes at her response from behind his desk. In the shower wasn't initially what he'd had in mind to start but since they were official now it wasn't like he wouldn't get the chance to make her come undone in other places. He shivered at the thought of it, tiny electric shocks of excitement and happiness tingled in his chest and fingertips. She wanted him, she wanted to be with him, they were together, an item. God there was so much he wanted to know about her, something about them clicked almost as soon as theyd met and this bond they had had just kept getting stronger without any real trying or intervention on their parts. Though they had talked about some personal things there was still so much left unsaid and that's how Leonard knew she had him. He cared, he wanted to know, he wanted to know everything, he wanted to just sit there and listen one morning while they both just lay in bed, while she told some stupid story from when she lived at yorktown and all the moments in between. For the first time since his ex wife he finally felt ready.

"So doc that video blog of Dr Reids totally backfired for you didnt it?" One of the male nurses commented stopping in front of Leonard's desk. Leonard raised a confused brow.

"What now? What're you talking about kid?" The nurse just rolled his eyes before passing Leonard a data padd and telling him to press play.

"I assumed you'd have known, i thought it might have been why they've split you up is all." He commented offhandedly as he watched Leonard watch the video. "Though I'm pretty sure Ashley and Ryan are dating and they're still on the same shifts so i'm not sure…"

"I doubt that's the reason Adam, is it?" The nurse nodded sporting a winning smile as Leonard slowly handed the padd back with his signature frown in place despite the few chuckles that had left his lips at certain parts of the video. "Though if it is I'm gunna hypo Jim into next month. And that damned witch…" Leonard pinched the bridge of his nose trying to relax.

"So, you and Doctor Reid, you are together then?" Adam took a step back as Leonard looked up at the man with his 'why are you still here' glare.

"You're further behind than i am if you haven't figured that out considering the entire ship has been gossiping about us for the past month, yea i'm not deaf. Now… Don't you have work to be doing?"

"It's just nobody was really sure, and i uh yea- sorry, I'll get to that right away Doctor." Adam scampered away to group of female nurses cleaning and chatting at the opposite end of the med bay, Leonard rolled his eyes and groaned when they all looked over nearly as soon Adam had returned to the group. His grumpy facade faltering slightly when Christine wolf whistled at him from near the group laughing when she saw him smiling behind his hands as he face palmed.  _It was gunna be one of those days._

**#########**

**I give it 5 minutes before there's a ship wide message sent out informing everyone that we're dating, lanky Adam has just came up and showed me your video, i knew you weren't texting Nyota.**

**-LHM**

**#########**

**Oh god, let me guess he asked because everyone was still not sure? He's asked me about it before haha back then the answer was no, before i told him to get back to his patient.**

**-ADR**

**Oh i like most food by the way, Italian, mexican, indian im all up for trying new things just don't be surprised if i pull a really unattractive face if it tastes awful.**

**-ADR**

**##########**

**Sneaky bastard. He thinks thats why our rotas have been switched around. And nice i'll keep that in mind, god I'm just glad you aren't a vegetarian.**

**-LHM**

**##########**

**Nah i doubt that, although Jim could be testing us? And god no i love bacon and chicken too much to be vegie. Alright now I'm gunna have to go need to grab food before i nap the rest of the day away. See you next week x**

**-ADR**

**###########**

_Next week? This really is shitty._

**Sleep well Ace x**

**-LHM**

**##########**

* * *

Bones sat alone at his usual desk in the middle of the med bay zoned out on the data padd in his hand.  _Maybe i should start wearing my glasses to stop me from reading the same line 5 times._  It was quiet, not that he didn't mind the peace and quiet but he was so used to the constant hum of music from his shifts with doctor Reid that it was starting to unsettle him. The shift changes weren't permanent of course but it still had him feeling a bit backwards, he hadn't seen her in a week because there shifts were a solid 12 hours apart and they were having a slow ongoing discussion over how to read signals in body language in the hours they happened to be awake at the same time despite one heading to breakfast and the other heading to bed, at least he'd have something to look forward to before going to sleep later. It was the start of his shift and he was already thinking about his bed. Typical. It wouldn't be so bad if there were patients but there were literally three people in the entire med bay at the moment, himself, Chapel, and a young ensign who managed to burn himself down in engineering. Chapel had offered to keep an eye on him for an hour or so since they weren't busy and the kid seemed pretty shook up, it wasn't a particularly nasty burn but it had covered a large area of his skin so he'd obviously panicked a little. He was currently sat on a biobed chatting to Chapel as she slowly ran the dermal regenerator over his forearm. Leonard sighed. The day was really going to drag.

"Oi, got any painkillers? Yea hey, left all my stuff here but can't sleep because of this migraine." A familiar voice had him snapping his eyes up so he was staring over his padd. Tired green eyes met his browns accompanied by a lazy smile and a loose ponytail swung haphazardly over her shoulder. Her freckles more prominent now her face was void of any makeup.

 _What a pretty little thing she is when she's sleepy._  "Uh, yea." Leonard smiled lightly getting up from his desk and walking over into his office that was currently set up for being a private room for more personal you could see out, but nobody else could see in, he had blinds installed as well though. Some patients didn't like the fact they could see everyone walking around while they had certain appendages out in the open. Understandably it made them feel uneasy.

He heard the door close behind him as he walked over to the top drawer of his second desk slipping into the swivel chair instinctively as he went to open the draw in search for a strong enough pain killer. You'd think he'd have learned by now to watch the red head like a hawk and that sometimes she was as bad as jim for not understanding personal boundaries as the draw was firmly shut by a slender hand. Before Leonard could look up to question why, he had a toned thigh on either side of him as she straddled him, plonking herself firmly in his lap.

Face just inches away from his she smiled coyly. "Just woke up huh?" Her voice was so soft but there was an undertone to it that his pre coffee brain couldn't quite figure out.

All he could do was nod slightly as his eyes honed in on her lips and his hand found there way to her thighs squeezing lightly. Every fibre in him was burning and he didn't know why he couldn't think properly, the cogs were turning but nothing was happening as was normally the case before he'd had his coffee. He wanted to touch, and he was. He could feel her smooth skin under his palms as his eyes flickered back up to hers. "You miss me that much you had to come see me at work?" He could feel her breath hot against his mouth now as he heard the smirk in her reply. Hands snaked there way around his shoulders lazily and her body weight shifted slightly, pressing more insistently onto his groin. That's when his brain finally started to kick itself into gear and some gutteral sound found its way out of his mouth.  _Oh so that's what you're after._  He had no idea what 'that' was but he felt like whatever it was couldn't be bad, not when it had his heart thumping against his rib cage and heat spreading through his veins. The heat coming from her centre pressed firm against his groin had a certain part of him waking up a lot faster than he was.

"Something like that." She purred, lips brushing his as he pressed forward turning his head to capture her lips more thoroughly, sucking her bottom lip tenderly as he did so. His cock twitched as she moaned quietly, letting out a surprised grunt as hips started to move, grinding against him slowly.

_Good god, i wonder if she'd be against the idea of hiding in my office for the day._

His hands moved to her ass squeezing as he pressed her down onto his trapped length. She looked amazing like this, he didn't care about the checkered pajama shorts or the starfleet issued cardigan she was wearing. Her eyes were shut tight and she was whimpering from slightly parted lips, a pink flush fresh on her cheeks as she opened her eyes and saw him looking at her, unknowingly under her control. He groaned as he leaned back against the backrest his usual frown nowhere to be seen as she ground the tension out of him. Watching intently as curved hips ground against him wishing that they both didn't have the layers of clothing between them, the friction alone was making him groan but he wanted to really feel her against him. He wanted to be in that tight wet heat as she bounced up and down on him bracing his desk for support, moaning his name as she came.

"You did take my threat about bending you over a table seriously right? Because if you carry on like this-" Bones was cut off as her mouth crashed into his again, there was a lot more heat behind it but it wasn't rough. It was like she was letting whatever it was slowly burn, holding it back enough in hopes that it'd drag out just that little bit longer.

"Hmmm as nice as that sounds that's not what i came in here to do." She purred opening the cardigan she had on, sliding it down her arms till it was a heap on the floor. Revealing a matching top to her shorts, thin straps and flimsy material left nothing to the imagination. He didn't know what she had planned but all he knew was that from where this looked like it was going, he'd be able to die happy after all was said and done. _God this woman is going to be the death of me._

"Hey Leo, you know you don't have to be a gentleman all the time right?" Alex leaned forward hot breath tickling the shell of his ear as she spoke. If he was wearing a normal shirt you could be damn sure she'd be unbuttoning it right now, instead she grabbed onto strong shoulders as she left hot wet kisses down one side of his neck, feeling his growls vibrate through her. Though he was undeniably still doing a number on her downstairs with the sounds he was making she wasn't quite expecting him to be this laidback and willing to receive. It was amazing and she was definitely enjoying herself… But she really wanted him to take control. Like the incident with the pathogen and the kiss in the supply cupboard. He'd been like an animal and shed be lying if she said it didn't make her needy and ache. Though rubbing herself against him was opening floodgates in itself, it made her want to go against her original plan and just ride him here and now.

Leonards cock twitched at the nickname or at the way she was kissing that one spot underneath his jaw, he couldn't tell. But he did know his frustration was at an all time high as his hands tightened to a bruising grip on her hips.

_Sweetheart if you're under the misconception that I'm always this 'gentlemanly' in the bedroom you're in for a shock._

Leonard opened his eyes, pupils dilated beyond belief. Though he was loving this attention, it wasn't enough. Running his hands up her sides he watched as she sat back slightly but before she could come back in for another kiss his hands had found there way to her breasts under her shirt.

Alex gasped as his cool hands touched her burning skin, callused hands roaming up and cupping her breasts possessively, all the while looking up at her to gauge her reaction. Leonard was breathing heavily and looking at her under heavy lids, frown replaced with a heated gaze as he ran his thumbs over perked up nipples. She moaned quietly, his touch sending a slow tingling sensation straight between her legs.

_Oh god hes looking at me like he wants to devour me- ah- i can wait a while before i go-_

"Don't you dare stop yet." She whined as one of his hands came up to remove the bobble from her hair. He smirked as he pulled her pajama top up above her head before she could say anything else.

Leonard groaned at the sight before him, hands immediately reaching out to grab, he didn't know what he'd been expecting, but he hadn't expected them to be so… perfect? He'd already noticed they were far from small but they were perky and round as well even though they were weighty. He growled as he leaned forward popping one of the perfect pink nubs into his mouth and sucking gently, rubbing his hands lovingly up and down her thighs as if to let her know how much he appreciated her body. Pulling away with a small pop he looked up at the disheveled red head on his lap who currently had a hand balled up in his hair. Watching as she bit her lip subconsciously. "I wouldn't dream of it, Darlin'." His southern drawl and his tongue making her mewl.

She knew she wouldn't be able to wear any form of tank top for a long while after this. But god was the man good with his mouth. The way his teeth grazed and nipped at her skin, leaving a dusting of small love bites all the way down from her neck to her breasts. She almost yelped when he took a nipple between his teeth and pinched the other one before lapping over them both with his tongue. And Leonard? Well Leonard was well and truly gone and he knew it. He'd knew it as soon as she'd started grinding down on him that he wasn't getting out of this one alive. He wasn't keeping his cool no matter how hard he tried.

Suddenly she was moving off him standing above him looking absolutely  _glorious_ , but she wasn't touching him anymore and he wasn't touching her. He gave her a questioning frown before leaning forward in his chair and placing his hands on her hips squeezing as he looked up over the perfect mound of her breasts to a sultry smirk and mischievous green eyes.

_What does this minx have planned?_

Turning around so his hands fell to his lap she cocked her hip drawing his attention to the ass that was now at his head level, he didn't notice she was looking for something until she made a relieved sound and seemingly plucked something off the desk. Tying her hair back up this time into a tighter higher ponytail as she got on her knees in front of him. For a second he didn't register her position, he was too focused on her ears being visible. Those oh so sensitive ears. Until his desk chair started to sink lower and her hands started to unbutton his uniform pants releasing some of the strain on his trapped length.

_Oh. Ohhhh. Is she really going to-_

"I know you like my hair down but i need it up for this." She purred, flicking her tongue out to wet her lips. He didn't know if he was ready for this, not that he didn't crave those pink lips around his cock but he didn't want to make a fool of himself either. It had been years after all.

Alex managed to wiggle his trousers and briefs all the way down to his ankles before looking up to see what she was working with. Leonard watched her expression change from smug to pleasantly surprised.

"Oh…" Alex leaned back slightly on her haunches taking in the thickness and slight upward curve with a tilt of her head and a smugness that didn't go unnoticed. She'd already made an educated guess on the size of his 'equipment' but it was so much better seeing it in the open than guessing through tight trousers. He shivered as her hands found his bare thighs slowly trailing up till they were oh so close to where he needed to be touched, stopping just short.

"If you call him little Leonard once I swear to-" Alex took hold and immediately wrapped her lips around the head sucking lightly as her tongue circled slowly, reducing whatever Leonard was going to say to a long drawn out groan as his eyes almost rolled into the back of his head. The wet heat of her mouth was almost overwhelming, he hadn't realised how much he'd missed blowjobs till now and my god did he want this to go on for as long as humanly possible. She let out a small giggle as she took him deeper, moaning around his length as a hand pulled hard on her ponytail when the tip touched the back of her throat, he wasn't going to last long at all.  _Holy fuck what is she doing with her tongue- i can't- Oh god._

"Christ Alex slow down, give a guy a chance." He breathed out, voice a low rumble compared to his usual volume. She did as she was told, slowly bobbing up and down as Leonard looked down at her. Part of him wondered how the hell they'd got here. From innocently watching old movies together to the sultry pixie swallowing around his dick. He groaned as green eyes met his, her mouth relenting its hold on his cock with a wet pop as she continued to pump him with her hand. Before he could say a word in protest she flicked her tongue over his tip playfully smirking at the grunt she received, and the glare of course, for being so smug about it. He could feel that familiar pressure starting to build as she continued, trailing the tip of her tongue all the way up his shaft while maintaining eye contact. Reaching out he grabbed her by the ponytail, pulling her up and away from her task for a split second, twitching insistently at the breathy moan that left her mouth as he tugged her away. She was hot as hell but he was going insane.

"For the love of god, i've had it with the teasing, either stand up and turn around or finish what you started." He ground out looking down at her as the words left his mouth taking in all the marks he'd left strewn down her neck and across her chest, gaze burning as he finally met her eyes. The atmosphere was heady and electric and his balls were screaming at the thought of being blue balled again. He needed her, he needed this, he could feel the physical ache in his dick as it twitched insistently.

"Yes Chief." She cocked a mischievous eyebrow at him and smiled.

Leonard didn't have time to comprehend what he'd just been called as his soul was now being sucked from his body. Wrapped immediately in a wet heat his hand tightened in her hair and his eyes squeezed shut, her tongue doing something he couldn't even describe as she started moving faster. The pressure building quickly as she continued at the maddening pace.

_Holy m- ahh- what is she doing?_

"My god…" Leonard could feel the heat pooling, he was almost at his breaking point. "If you don't move i-" to his surprise she started picking up the pace even more, despite his warning. Slowing right down just as he was about to tip over the edge leaving him a moaning mess in his chair as the heat just kept pooling and pooling, the minutes ticked by and god did he wish this could go on forever but she was getting impatient, her tongue dancing around him as she moaned. Nails dug into his thighs and with one last flick of her tongue, he saw white. A wave of pleasure shot through him as he came, hands tangled in red curls with an iron grip, holding on as if his life depended on it. He was vaguely aware that he was making some kind of noise but he was to lost in the feeling to care, eyes squeezed shut with his mouth hanging open as he came back down from the high. Slowly coming back to reality he popped and eye open just as Alex lips left his length with a pop, he had no idea what to say or do he just wanted to sit there for the rest of the day. Better yet he wanted a long nap.

_It's been a long time since I've had head damn it._

He groaned as he looked down at her, loosening his grip on thick locks to wipe his thumb over her lips, cleaning up what she hadn't managed to swallow. But by god did she look hot as sin with cum dripping from her lips. There was a certain accomplished look on her face that he couldn't help but chuckle at as he shakily stood up, hands fumbling with his belt for a second before finding the right loop. Looking down as she stood up as well he was promptly re acquainted with her impressive rack. Dragging his eyes up to her face he couldn't help but smirk at the scattering of love bites that trailed all the way up to her neck as he slumped back down into his chair lazily.

" Did you call me chief?" an eyebrow cocked in her direction as she slipped on her pajama top, her laugh was like music to his ears as she turned to face him leaning back against his desk with a smile plastered on her face.

"I think you're hearing things Leonard." He took one of her hands into his and pulled her away from his desk till she was sat in his lap yet again, this time in a not so suggestive position. "The grumpy doctor has a power kink." She teased poking him in the chest.

He rolled his eyes smile never leaving his face before he could reply his padd started beeping, a message from Chapel popping up on the screen. The pair frowned at the padd before Alex grabbed it from his desk handing it to him.

**##########**

**I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Captain was here about 10 minutes ago, i told him to come back in 20 minutes as you were seeing a patient.**

**-CC**

**##########**

"Shit." Slapping her ass she hopped off his lap with haste throwing on her cardigan and making her way for the door followed by Leonard.

"Wait wait wait." Leonard grabbed her before she could open the door turning her round and releasing the bobble letting her curls fall down over her ears. "Woman on a mission, but almost blew her own cover wide open, you need practice."

Alex smirked leaning up slightly planting a kiss on his lips. "Guess i need a volunteer." She wiggled her eyebrows playfully as they stayed inches apart from the other. Leonard sported a cocky smile as he slyly lifted a hand up to her face leaning in to kiss her but gently rubbing the tip of her ear between his thumb and index finger as he did so, catching the hitch in her breath at the unexpected pleasure.

"I volunteer." He kissed her once more before opening the door himself and strolling out confidently heading towards chapel who was currently cleaning up in a quiet area of the med bay.

"So you got my message then good, he'll no doubt be back soon. You need to get to bed! You need your rest I've heard from m'benga just how much you've been taking on recently go on shoo." She pointed at Alex accusingly before smiling as Alex leaned in to give her a thankful kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks for saving the day Christine." Alex smiled sweetly. Leonard scoffed. Not liking the knowing mischievous look christine was giving him.

"I think you've got the wrong end of the stick here Chris-"

"Leonard McCoy. I may be old, but I'm not stupid, i was young once too you know." Christine chastised him waving a finger at him as Alex giggled next to her. Leonard looked positively betrayed. "Honestly all men are so easy to read especially when, well you know…" she raised her eyebrows at Alex before a hint of mischief dancing in her eyes. "They're always a lot less tense afterwards."

"Alright alright spare me the details-"

"You should know the details dear, you were there after all." Christine chipped in setting Alex off laughing hysterically. Leonards eyebrow twitched he wasn't annoyed per say but he wasn't used to this much sass from Christine, in the end he gave in and started laughing alongside Alex.

"You get to bed before Jim sees you in here, and no more sass from you." Leonard commanded his voice a quiet hiss.

"Christine, please don't tell anyone, at least not yet." Alex pleaded quietly.

"Or ever." Leonard mumbled mostly to himself rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"Don't be silly, like i said, i was young once. Your secrets safe with me Doctor." She smiled sweetly at Alex waving her towards the med bay doors. Alex grinned before giving leonard a quick peck on the cheek and speed walking out of there, smile never leaving her face.

Leonard was frozen in place one hand subconsciously rubbing his cheek where she'd kissed him. It's not that he was surprised or anything it was just, well it was the first display of public affection from her. Chapel giggled to herself pulling Leonard out of his thoughts.

"What?" He frowned, stopping his assault on his cheek.

Chapel waved him off before sighing with a gentle smile on her face. "All the years I've worked with you Leonard, I know what that look is because it's the first time I've seen it."

"Best watch myself then can't have the crew finding out i actually have feelings, there'd be an uprising." He joked causing another bout of giggles from christine.

"I think you'll feel better after seeing her tonight, thank god your rotas have finally came back together i was really starting to miss the music and the less grumpy version of you."

"Wait tonight? Why would i be seeing her tonight-"

"Its Friday Leonard. It's been a week already."

"Well that-" Leonard leaned over an gave chris a peck on the cheek the older woman giggling as he did so "-has just made my day."

Of course the rest of the day dragged and by the end of it Leonard was frustrated as hell. Breathing out a small sigh of relief, letting some of the tension leave his body as the clock showed ten too six. Pulling out his padd as he continued to tidy up he typed rapidly hoping to god she was awake.

**###########**

**Stop over at mine tonight? It's been a long week.**

**-LHM**

**###########**

**Already here gorgeous**

**-ADR**

**###########**

Leonard smirked to himself a shiver of anticipation running through him, though he wasn't quite sure over what just yet. He hadn't decided if he wanted to take her right then and there as soon as he laid eyes on her when he got back to his room or just drag her into a bear hug and go to sleep. Pacing his way down the ships corridors he thought to himself how much this place felt like home,despite how much he hated space and flying this place really did feel like home. He supposed it was partly due to the fact his family was here, everyone but his little girl. He hoped he could give jo a little tour around the ship when they got back, before he finally called it quits that is, who knows if he was going to stay on after this 5 year mission was up. He'd already missed so much of his girl growing up, he was terrified she'd grow to resent him. As he walked into his room he immediately kicked his boots off before looking up with a frown. Empty? A small pit of disappointment filled him as he stomped over to the bathroom.  _May as well get a shower if she's gunna be late as hell. Now sonic or a good old hot water shower?_

As Leonard walked through the bathroom door he was greeted with a face full of steam hearing a faint humming as his eyes finally adjusted. Undoing the clasp on his belt his eyes roamed down the lithe body stood in his shower, facing away with her head under one of the streams of steaming water soap suds ran down her back delving into the crevice of what had to be the best ass he'd ever seen. And by god seeing her stood there in her birthday suit, all ass and legs, he had to fight the urge to go and bury his face between her cheeks, not something he'd ever done before surprisingly, but good lord did he want to now. He growled as he struggled to get his boxers off over his already hard cock and discard them in a pile with the rest of his clothes. Taking a second to himself before he joined her, Leonard took hold of himself lazily, gently stroking up and down as his eyes followed water droplets slipping down milky white curves. A small smirk pulled at his mouth as he stepped into the shower cabinet behind her, closing the door quietly he was immediately deafened by the volume of the water hitting the ground. And suddenly he wasn't alone anymore. Putting his hands on her hips he smiled as she closed her eyes and leaned back into him, water running down both their faces as her eyes opened up smiling at him.

"I was wondering when you'd show up-mmm" Alex moaned as hands pulled her back flush against him and his mouth found her neck yet again, trailing wet kisses agonizingly slowly all the way down to her shoulder, a stark contrast too the hard throbbing length pressed against her ass.

"Stop talking." Leonard breathed in her ear, voice a low rumble as want filled him, his pupils blown wide as he spun her around and backed her up against the wall. Mouth on hers as soon as her ass was pressed against the tiles, kisses needy but not quite rushed as he pushed his thigh in between her legs. Bracing himself against the wall with one hand. He swallowed her moan as soon as she made the noise pulling his face away for a split second so he could look down at where they were pressed together. The small strip of red hair down there sending a growl ripping through him.  _Finally a grown ass woman who wasn't afraid of some hair_ , he glanced up seeing that all to familiar mischievous glint in those green eyes of hers. Watching as her hand came up to her mouth sucking lightly on her middle finger before trailing down her body, drops of water pooling where there bodies joined as her hand got lower.

_Oh good god._

He could hear his own breathing as the finger came down past the little landing strip of hair and delved in between, feeling the tiny circular motion it was making on his thigh.  _No_. His dick twitched but so did his eyebrow as his free hand came down and ripped her hand away, pinning it above her. The look of sheer surprise that crossed her face had him reeling.

"I have two hands you know."

"No you don't." Leonard voice was was husky, Alex immediately hearing the warning underlying his words as her other hand was pinned above her as well. "Do you have any idea how long i've wanted to do this?" Leonard pulled back slightly guiding his length as he spoke, slowly rocking his hips forward ever so gently so the tip was rubbing up against her clit. He watched her chest heave as she whined, frustrated frown forming on her face as she tried to desperately get more friction by wiggling her bottom half, making his free hand grip her hips hard enough to leave bruises.

"Do what?" She half snapped, breath coming in short pants as he continued to torture her. She hadn't known what to expect, there was never a guarantee that he'd join her in the shower but here they were. She wasn't expecting to be teased like some play thing, and she wasn't sure if she loved it or hated it, but part of her was mewling over how dominant and assertive he was being, it was like watching him at work just with less clothes and a lot sexier.

He pulled back again running a thumb over her nipple as his free hand roamed down the curves of her body. "You're far too easily worked up." Leonard groaned watching her face contort as little sparks of pleasure shot through her from his touch. Leaning forward till he was inches away from her face he placed a feather light kiss on her lips before pushing two fingers between her folds, spreading her out gently before plunging them in to the wet heat.

"Oh god." Alex moaned into his mouth head falling back slightly as he groaned, her breath hitching as he curled his fingers on the way out making her entire body twitch, her hands involuntarily jerking away from the wall. She needed something to hold onto. She needed him. God she needed him so badly.

"My god, Alex." Leonard panted, hair slick with water as it ran down his face and dropped from his eyelashes and nose. Letting her hands down so he could palm at her breast as he sucked a nipple into his mouth for the second time that day, fingers never stopping. He could hear her coming undone above him, the way she was moaning his name was something he never wanted to stop hearing,  _so fucking needy_. He couldn't wait any longer, and if the hand pulling at his hair was any indication neither could she.

"I want to touch you too you son of a-"

"You're hot as hell when you're pissed off you know that?" Leonard growled right back at her, smirking as he yanked her up against the wall, slowly pushing in without warning, his legs almost giving way when he bottomed out inside her. Moaning as he felt her clench around him. He could feel her legs wrapped tight around his waist, feel just how slick she was for him as her walls fluttered around his cock trying to entice him into moving too soon. Alex was shaking, she was aching before he entered and now she'd never felt so full in her life. But she needed him to move my god did she need him to move, she couldn't think clearly all she could do was whimper at the feeling of being stretched open and the way his pelvic bone was pressing against her clit, that delicious pressure had her grinding her hips into him, setting off tiny sparks behind her eyes.

"Please move, Leonard i can't- i need you to-" She whined, to lost in the feeling to care what she sounded like. _I don't need to be told twice._  He started to move, hips rolling in and out slowly as he found his rhythm, until his hips snapped forward and hit that certain bundle of nerves. "Oh god oh god." Alex chanted, sweat surely joining the water dripping down both there bodies by now as she scraped her nails up his back making him hiss. Hands in his hair as he pressed forward capturing her lips in a desperate kiss, tongues fighting, teeth clashing, every noise she made was sending him spiraling closer to oblivion before she pulled away from the kiss slack jawed as she leaned her head back against the bathroom wall as he continued to pound into her.

A flush dusting her cheeks and a look of pure ecstasy etched on her face before her eyes shot open looking straight into Leonards, lust filled and pleading, her panting becoming more erratic by the second. Her mouth was moving but no words were coming out.  _Oh yes, that's it sweetheart, cum for me. Fuck._  Without so much as questioning what that look meant Leonard put everything he had left into his thrusts, ramping up the already bruising pace and going harder as he felt nails dig into his shoulders, his pupils blown wide as she came hard. Hair flat against her shoulders, eyes squeezed shut and mouth hanging open as it hit her like a truck, eyes opening as she rode it out looking down at him through heavy lids as her nails still scraped down his back. He was vaguely aware that she might have been screaming his name but couldn't be sure as he toppled over the edge himself, her insides fluttering around him making his tongue loose, her name falling from his lips in the most lewd moan she'd ever heard, letting out another moan herself as she felt him spilling into her. They stayed like that for a while, not moving just revelling in the afterglow.

Slipping out he lowered her back onto the shower floor making sure her knees could hold her up. "Fuck me." Leonard breathed out, letting his head fall onto her shoulder as arms wrapped around him pulling him in close.

"Later, not yet that was- i'm gunna need a five minute break." She hummed fingers running through his hair as she looked up at him through heavy lids and long lashes.

"You look, well, fucked." Leonard chuckled as she let out a laugh her hands now firmly planted against his chest. "You always that impatient when sex is on the table or was that a one off?" Leonards voice came out as a low rumble, southern accent lathered on thick as he spoke. Turning the water off he leaned in lifting her chin up claiming her lips with his own before smiling and opening the shower door. Missing green eyes ogling his behind.

Alex rolled her eyes as she stepped out of the shower taking the towel she was offered and wrapping it around herself. "i was- you were taking to long!" she pouted, frowning as she shimmied out of the bathroom. Leonard just laughed and followed her out of the bathroom eyes going wide as she dropped the towel and started using it to dry her hair.

"Well i apologise for everything we can try it your way now if you like?" Leonard raised a brow as she turned her head to look at him not even trying to hide the fact he was checking her out.

"Someone's eager." She wiggled her eyebrows at him with a mischievous smile in place.

"Sweetheart, you look good enough to eat. Oh, shit please tell me you're on some sort of birth control. I normally would have asked beforehand i just-"

"Yea i am, don't worry. Got the implant, relax." She walked up to him wrapping her arms around his neck as she looked up at him smiling. "You know we have the entire day off tomorrow right?" Leonard chuckled as he pulled her into another kiss. Trying to suggest they could hold off till the morning because he'd been at work all day, she really must be some kind of saint _. A really filthy saint._

"Yea, well I'm good for at least another round before we call it a nigh-" He was cut off by a hand worming its way into his towel and lips against his. His towel landed at his feet completely forgotten as a delicate hand worked the length of his cock before she dropped to her knees infront of him.

_That devilish tongue._


	15. Touch too much

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Im back with a new chapter bitches. You arent really bitches your reviews give me life.

So *cough* more smut.  _sorry not sorry_

But also some more developments with other characters aswell like a certain captain shall we say...

Im sorry if chapters seem slow proggressing dont worry, though i do have alot planned and alot of drive to finish this story. Though its nowhere near done right now.

* * *

"Captain new orders from starfleet sending them over now." Nyota tapped away at her station a smug smile on her face.

"Thankyou Nyota." Jim scanned the padd in front of him frown forming as he finished, looking up to Spock with a questioning glance.

"Spock… are vulcan extremists an actual thing, i thought you were all too logical to have those type of problems."

Spock raised a brow towards him as he answered. "Unfortunately they are, they are a group of vulcan individuals who have resorted to acts of violence against any vulcan who has any sort of relations with that of humans, be it intimate or other means."

"Or other means?" Jim asked warily, not sure if he was broaching personal territory.

"My father has had his shuttle sabotaged on more than one occasion not only due to my mother being human but because he is the vulcan ambassador of earth and has an affiliation with the federation." Spock paused before turning back to his console face going blank. "They are also strongly against vulcan and human offspring."

Jim felt disgust crawl up his spine at that but made sure it didn't show,  _what is wrong with people? For a species that claim to have no emotion they sure do love being dramatic._ "Well, as it turns out starfleet think they were behind the the malfunction on the shuttle we picked up Torin and his family in. Deliberate sabotage, just because of his previous relationship with Dr Reid."

"Well she never told me that." Nyota muttered under her breath. Earning a questioning look from Jim as he turned in his chair.

"I believe it is a sensitive topic." Spock spoke not even looking away from his console until Jim hissed at him.

"Spock you can't just go saying things like that, you need to look into being more subtle." Jim rubbed a hand over his face as he leaned back into his chair.

"i don't understand-"

"You've just piqued everyone on the bridges' interest Spock, by suggesting there's some kind of 'sensitive' back story." Jim smirked at him playfully, finding it oddly endearing how even Spock occasionally messed up with social cues.

"Oh, i see."

"So what's the- oh oh my god." Nyota gasped slapping a hand across her mouth as the other hand held her padd before she quickly put it away trying to ignore all the eyes on her.

"Oh my god what?" Jim asked nodding his head towards her padd.

"It's nothing, what were the new orders from starfleet by the way captain? Shouldn't we be setting in a new course?" Nyota glanced over her shoulder looking towards Jim with a far too innocent look on her face.

"Sulu set a course for new Vulcan, fast as we can, we've got to take our guests back home, and deal with any resistance if necessary. Now c'mon, must be something juicy if its got you gobsmacked."

"Its none of my business captain." Nyota turned back to her station avoiding the cheeky grin that was following her from the captains chair.

Sulu whistled turning heads as he looked down at the image on his padd "I would." Chekov leaned over looking down at Sulus padd before coughing awkwardly a slight pink flush flooding his cheeks.

"I-is zat?" Pavel stuttered.

"She sent it to you aswell!?" Nyota gasped a cheeky smile breaking out on her face. "He's going to kill her."

"Don't they both have an entire day off today aswell?" Sulu chipped in wiggling his eyebrows at Nyota and laughing.

"Whoa whoa whoa show me. You're talking about Bones aren't you?" Jim jumped up from his seat, looking down at sulus padd as he reached the helmsman's console. Pulling out his comm device he rang Bones as he looked down at the image of his cmo sprawled out in his bed with bed hair that could put even Jims to shame on a morning. And were those scratches down his back? "Dr McCoy please report to the bridge. Yes i know it's your day off Bones, this'll take like two minutes just get your ass up here. Fine dont wear your uniform i don't care. Kirk out."

"That was low." Nyota rolled her eyes at Jims shit eating grin.

"Nah, what's he gunna do it's only Bones." Jim sat back in his chair.

"I dont think its Leonard you should be worrying about, although he's definitely gunna be pissed. I'd cover your neck if i were you captain." Nyota swished her hair away as the lift doors pinged open and Leonard came storming through the doors.

"You son of a-"

"Good morning Bones, sleep well?" Jim wiggled his eyebrow at the doctor who was sporting dark jeans and a grey long sleeved shirt. Wearing the most aggressive frown Jim had ever seen.

"It was a good morning before you called." Leonard ran both hands down his face in exasperation taking a deep breath in so he didn't snap. "Alright what did you want?" He folded his arms a frown present on his face as he glared at Jim.

"Hey Bones what's that?" Jim pointed at him causing the man to frown and look down at himself. "That thing on your neck? There's a bunch of them." Jim couldn't help the shit eating grin that spread on his face.

Leonard raised a hand to his neck in confusion for a second not caring how many eyes were on him as he found the patch of sensitive skin and prodded it lightly. "You aren't old enough to have that talk yet Jimbo, maybe in a couple more years." Leonard clasped him on the shoulder wearing the smuggest smirk before walking over to Nyota and frowning down at her for a second. Ignoring Jims flailing hands in the background at being out sassed. "I know you know far to much, not a word. Besides, i've heard you've already won the bet." He crossed his arms eyebrows raised as Nyota finally looked up at him with a mischievous smile.

"No way…" Sulu muttered as he brought up the betting table on his padd. "So just to confirm when did you and-"

Leonard shot Sulu one of his glares and shut the man up in an instant.

"Alrighty then so i'm gunna go with a couple of hours ago, just so you know this entire thing was Jim's idea." Sulu pointed accusingly, scanning through the dates trying to find today's date.

"Of course it was, I'm not even surprised."

"She has… Nyotas won the bet… How did you get it so close?" Sulu turned to look at her with suspicion, eyes squinted and lips pursed. Nyota just tapped her nose in response. Before Leonard let out a small chuckle.

"I'll tell you how, she's been getting regular updates from an inside source." Leonard grumbled.

"Leonard!" She hissed slapping the man on the arm.

"Well being honest we did find out about a minute before you came up." Jim chipped in nodding at Sulu and Nyota.

Leonard pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Don't show me, no, no- down put it down." He pointed at Nyota as she started raising her padd up to show him before he looked away.

"I have a lot of blackmail material on you now so i think it's in your best interest to look at it, it's not that bad Leonard." She tugged at his sleeve as he scowled bloody murder and groaned.

"Is that so?" Leonard grimaced, looking down at the padd and making a promise to himself to never trust that woman with a padd or comm device in her hand.  _What have i gotten myself into? Well i suppose it could be worse, jesus are those- Scratches…_ "Damn witch."

"So Bones i take it you won't be available to do some overtime today?" Jim questioned, cheeky smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he raised a brow at his unusually content cmo. Watching as he turned to face him with his typical 'be careful what your next words are' brow raise.

"Oh so thats how youre gunna play it Jim? Almost seems like your jealous." Bones strolled over to Jim till he was stood behind the captain's chair,his hands gripping Jim's shoulders lightly. Knowing full well he was about to embarrass Jim in front of the entire bridge crew but he didnt care, Jim would get him back for it later no doubt but it was definitely worth it to wipe that smug look off his friends face.

Jim scoffed tilting his head up so he could see Leonard stood above him. "Why would i be jealous?"

Bones leaned down patting Jim on the shoulders as he let out a smug sigh. "Because for the first time in your life, I'm getting more ass than you are." Jim started sputtering at that as Leonard let out a laugh and headed back towards the lift.

"Screw you Bones, you bet your ass im definitely going to find you something to do now." Jim snapped, turning to see Bones wearing the most shit eating grin as the lift doors started to close.

"Bite me, sweetheart." Came the southern tinted reply.

There was an stiff silence on the bridge for a number of minutes after Leonard left, Nyota was seriously struggling to keep her composure as she watched Jim fume out of the corner of her eye. That was until Spock of all people broke the silence.

"Did Doctor Mccoy just call you sweetheart?" the question was drowned out in laughter almost as soon as it had left his lips as Sulu, Chekov and Uhura cackled at Jims reddening cheeks.

"Yea, he does it when he's being a smug asshole." Jim ground out, jaw clenched tight. He was annoyed but also trying not to join everyone else in laughing. His mask cracking slightly as he stared at the ground, lip slowly creeping up into a smile.

"It's nice seeing him so relaxed for once, the only time i saw him properly frown was when he came out of the lift." Nyota spoke whilst aiming a pointed glance at Jim before swishing her hair over her shoulder and turning back to her station with a smile on her face.

"Yea, sex does that to you." Sulu mumbled, earning him a slap from Chekov as everyone else laughed. Grin spreading on his face as he slapped the young blonde back playfully.

"How to fix a faulty cmo: an instructional guide written by Hikaru Sulu." Jim punctuated while laughing, leaning back in his chair and smiling at nothing in particular.  _God i love my crew._ He'd never got on with a group of people more, although it did probably help that he was the captain.

"Researched and tested by Doctor Alex Reid." Nyota added with playful smirk, letting out a small giggle as Sulu roared with laughter, leaning over his console very nearly crying into the controls.

"Maybe i should call her next, just to be an inconvenience." Jim pondered picking up his comm.

"Do not. Don't, because she will answer it. I've hung around with her alot more than you have out of hours, shes way to used to being called at awkward times from living in Yorktown as the head doctor of a surgery." Nyota swung round at lighting speed with her hand stretched out.

"Really? You really think she'd answer?" Jim pondered looking down at his comm.

"I'm curious as to why you seem to want to cause constant intrusion on their day off? I am almost positive that Leonard would not do the same to you if your positions were switched." Spock questioned quirking an eyebrow towards Jim who was still staring at his comm.

"Ugh Spock don't hit me with the facts you're spoiling my fun by making me feel bad." Jim whined throwing his head back against the captain's chair dramatically.

"And she'd probably make out like she was in the middle of something even if they weren't, just because you called Leonard out this morning." Nyota added watching as Jim clicked his comm shut.

"Yea, no... I'd rather not risk it. God it still hasn't sunk in, Bones… and a woman. Why have i been seeing Bones as a robot for the past couple of years, he doesn't do the sideways tango." Jim frowned to himself trying to understand why the concept of Bones being intimate with a woman seemed so foreign and odd to him.

"Sideways tango?" Sulu laughed shaking his head dismissively at the lingo.

Jim pinched the bridge of his nose and squinted his eyes shut. "Doctor Reid has some pretty weird sayings and they may or may not have started to rub off on me."

"It's just odd too you because you've never seen him with anyone while you've been friends." Nyota added offhandedly while tapping away at her station. Finding it rather cute how befuddled Jim was over the entire situation. He probably thought in the back of his head that Leonard was going to change or things were going to change but that wouldn't be the case at all.  _If anything Leonard is going to slowly become more himself than he's ever been, it'll just seem new and strange for a while because we've never seen that side of him before. Jim's not figuring this out anytime soon though._

"That's true." jim sat contemplating his mind drifting as he zoned out. He couldn't wrap his head around it all. He was happy for them, unbelievably so, but? He felt so weird about it all.

* * *

 

Alex frowned as she tapped away at Leonards padd. First morning waking up next to him properly and he was immediately called up to the bridge by the captain, she half wondered if Jim was jealous of her stealing Leonards attention and wanted him all to himself. She could share him, just not for at least a week. Not that she wanted to share him, but it was obvious half the crew were stunned at the fact their cmo was a human male with feelings and needs.  _And heaven forbid he actually date._ She understood why, itd take time for everyone else to settle down since they'd never been around Leonard whilst he was in a relationship. It was understandable of course, but she had a nagging feeling that Jim was going to struggle with it all.  _No bother, Leonard will probably sit him down and talk to him about all that no doubt over a drink or two if Jim really can't wrap his head around it. Don't stress Alex it'll all work out fine._

A loud ringing made her jump, almost letting go of the padd and sending it flying as her attention was drawn back to reality. Someone was calling Leonards padd. Should she answer it? Would that be intrusive of her? What if it was an emergency? Or a patient? She could at the very least take a message for him, that seemed reasonable. Clicking the accept call button she smiled her brightest smile as the call connected, smile quickly turning to a look of worry as the on screen image showed a dark room and the sound of sniffling faintly coming through the speakers.

"Hello? Are you okay?" Alex squinted down at the screen and watched as the feed shook for a second before a little girl came into focus on the screen. Chestnut brown hair in messy waves framing puffy red eyes and red cheeks. "What's your name sweetie?"

"I'm Jo. This is my daddy's padd who are you? Where's my dad?" The girl sniffled rubbing her eyes with the sleeves of her pajama top as she tried to stop her eyes from watering in front of a complete stranger.

Alex's heart thumped hard against her ribcage. This sweet little lady was Leonards little girl. She wasn't so little as how Leonard made her out to be. But by god could she see the resemblance, especially in her eyes. The same chocolatey brown with maybe those dark tints of green that her dad had? She couldn't quite tell from the faint glow of the nightlight. "Oh so you're the famous Jo that your dad talks so much about. I'm Alex, i work with your dad, he should be back soon Jim- i mean the captain just called him to the bridge for something."  _Smooth Alex. You're stumbling over your words like you're talking to a celebrity here, you're good with kids just relax._

"Dad always says uncle Jim loves wasting his time, isn't Alex a boys name? Are you one of the nurses that works with my dad?"

_Uncle Jim, i may die, that's absolutely adorable i can't compete with that. She's trying to act like she didn't call up crying, so stubborn just like her dad._ "I'm actually a doctor as well, and yea i always thought that too but i kinda like my name now, get to surprise everyone when people introduce me. It's 'Doctor Alex Demora Reid', then boom, Lady doctor." Alex smiled pointing finger guns at the screen making Jo giggle slightly, her eyes dry now from the tears that were running down them a couple of minutes ago.

"Demora is a pretty name, i think people are silly if they see your full name and still think you're a boy… did you say dad talks about me?"

"Me too, and yes of course he does! I've heard all about just how smart you are and your love for ice cream. I know he misses you alot too." Alex gave her a small smile. "Now miss Jo you gunna tell me what was wrong when you called, i'm a doctor too you know, and if it's something i can't help with I'll eat my socks." Alex chirped earning a giggle of jo as the girl shook her head and stuck out her tongue in disgust at the thought of eating socks.

"I had a bad dream, it's gone now though. But now I'm gunna have another bad dream about you eating your socks."

Alex laughed at that before rubbing her chin in thought. "You know i'm gunna let you in on a little trick i learned for getting out of bad dreams, just because i don't want you to have to see me eat my socks. You know when stuff starts to get scary in your dream but hasn't got to the scariest bit yet?"

"Yea…"

"I pinch my arm and close my eyes in the dream. And you have to concentrate really hard and just think 'Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!' You can even say it out loud while you think it. Pinch your arm every time you think 'wake up' in a bad dream and you've already got power over the dream. Wanna know why?"

"Why?" Jo was leaning forward into her padd as if what she was being told was secret information and Alex couldn't help but smile at how endearing it was.

"Because you're in the bad dream telling yourself to wake up. You already know that it's just a dream and nothing bad can happen to you, that way the dream has no real power over you anymore. You've just got to get your body to catch up to your brain. And when you've done that, you're awake."

"I've never tried telling myself to wake up in a dream before, sometimes they feel so real."

"Ah i know those kinds of dreams i've had them too, you just got to be smart about them as well Jo. You have to think smart, ask yourself questions to make your brain realise it's just a dream. What i seem to find that all dreams have in common is they all seem fuzzy. Like you're remembering something from a really long time ago. That's always a tell for me."

"So if i had a bad dream and all the lights went out, and i reached for my padd under my pillow and it wasn't there, then I'd know it was a dream?"

"You got it, especially if that's where you always put it and your mam isn't going to move it from under your pillow without warning you."

"You say mom so weird." Jo dragged out the word weird as she jigged lightly in her bed, a smile spread across her face and nightmare already forgotten.

Alex laughed, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "it's because I'm British and not American."

"I'm back, Jim was just being a- What are you doing?"

"Guess whos back." Alex smirked looking up from the screen to a confused Leonard.

"Dad! Why were you gone so long! What did uncle Jim want? Why didn't you tell me Alex was a new doctor on the ship?"

"Whoa whoa whoa there doodlebug slow down. One question at a time. Uncle Jim was just being uncle Jim and wasting daddy's time as always. I was going to call you later on today why are you calling so late you should be sleeping sweetheart." Leonard took the padd from Alex's hands eyes transfixed on the image of his little girl sat up in bed jigging up and down giddily in her pink striped pajamas. He looked up for a split second to see Alex motioning to the coffee machine smiling, he nodded before his eyes locked onto the screen once again.

"I had a bad dream that's why i called. But Alex told me some secrets on how to take care of bad dreams so I'm good now, i promise." Jo smiled ear to ear at her dad as if to prove she wasn't scared anymore.

"Did she now." Leonard looked up watching as the red head made coffees humming to herself as she waltzed around the tiny kitchenette. Headphones in both ears no doubt listening to music. Maybe it was to give Leonard a little privacy with his daughter, that was a sweet thought.

"Eww dad why are you making googly eyes at her, can you like save that for when I'm not calling." The grossed out voice of a nine year old girl all but shouted at him.

"I was not making googly eyes at anyone." He frowned at the screen comically. Sticking his tongue out at Jo as she crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at him.

"Were too. I saw it. Maybe if you stopped frowning all the time she'd make googly eyes back at you, you ever think about that? Huh?"

Leonard full on laughed then, putting his face in his hand as a grin cracked his face. "Where has this came from? When did you get so sassy, you've got this from Jim haven't you?"

"I'm not being sassy im telling it like it is!" Jo threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "But if you like her you have to do better than make googly eyes at her." Jo leaned into the padd closely, eyes darting back and forth hoping Alex was out of earshot, "You should take her out for food, that's what adults do right?"

Leonard couldn't stop the constant chuckle, he was being lectured on how to date by his 9 year old daughter. "It's pretty hard to take someone out for dinner when you're on a ship Jo, and hey since when did you tell me what ladies i should ask out? "

Jo threw up her arms in defeat while sighing, before shrugging her shoulders. "I'm just trying to help, she's funny and really pretty, and i could help her pick out a pretty dress and stuff... because i guess she's not so bad and i like her more than the other ones you work with, besides you need someone to make you laugh that isn't me or uncle Jim!" Jo pointed at him accusingly while Leonard raised both brows at his daughter.

"Well i guess that's me told. I hope you realise what you're implying kiddo."

"I'm 9, not 5 i know what dating is, you spend time with each other and watch movies and sometimes kiss and stuff."

"So when did you get so for daddy getting a girlfriend? Have you been watching those tv shows with your mom again?"

"Noooo, it's just mom has been dating some guys, and they're nice and stuff and make her happy, and i think Alex is nice and she could make you happy, not as much as me obviously but yea… Dad you need a girlfriend." Jo deadpanned, causing Leonard to choke on his coffee laughing.

"Oh my god, you've had that shirt on for less than an hour and you've spilt coffee over it, you're a mess." Alex chastised jokingly as she took the mug out of his hands and threw a tea towel at him, Jo laughing as the towel hit him in the face and fell into his lap.

"What if i told you i was already working on it." Leonard pointed to the screen and watched his daughter's eyes go wide.

"Really?! Well what did you say? What did she say?" She whispered the last part as if trying to hide the conversation from Alex not knowing she still had earphones in.

"You don't need to whisper doodlebug she's got headphones in, and she said i could take her out for dinner when we go on shore leave."

Jo looked like she was going to explode with excitement and Leonard couldn't help but grin at how badly she was at holding it in. "This is soooo excitingggg." she stopped her excitement induced jig for a second to lean forward really close to the screen so it was just her eye visible. "You have to wear something nicer than that for a date, she's going to look amazing you can't just turn up dressed like that."

"Ooo who you going on a date with Leonard?" Alex asked wiggling her eyebrows playfully not seeing the look of horror on Jo's face as the words left her mouth.

"You said she had headphones in, you lied!"

"She did!"

"Now she's going to think you don't like her!"

"Nah she knows i like her, you need to calm down you're going to wake your mom up." Leonard said smiling up at Alex as she winked at him.

"You're making googly eyes again."

"Am not."

"Are too."

Jo giggled before going quiet and looking somewhere off screen with concentration etched on her face. "Call me back in the morning dad i think moms awake, i love you, byeee, bye Alexxx." And with that the screen cut to black. Leaving Leonard in an even better mood than he had been that morning, his daughter liked her, that was definitely a good sign.

"I shouldn't have answered it i'm sorry i just thought if it was an emergency and i ignored it then-umph!" Alex was dragged down onto the bed by Leonard who immediately started playing with strands of her hair. The atmosphere suddenly calm and slow as she got herself comfy shuffling back till Leonards chest was touching her back.

"Jo seems to like you." he mumbled, voice soft and low as if he was mulling over everything in his head contently.

"I like Jo too." Alex murmered, eyes closing as Leonard continued to run his hands through her hair. "You're making me sleepy all over again."

"Well take a nap then, we've got an entire day to do whatever we want, relax, take a load off." His voice was like gravel as he spoke sending a shiver down her spine whilst lulling her off to sleep, pulling the covers over herself before she finally drifted off.

* * *

Spock sat at the table across from Jim, he'd spent approximately 72% more of his time discussing the likely appearance of Scotty and Jaylahs' offspring if they had a child than he had eating his plomeek soup which was starting to go cold.

"As i have stated since i do not believe we have any examples of these particular two races producing offspring in the past we can not even make an educated guess. You have nothing to base your theory on Jim."

"I know Spock, i've just got a feeling that Jaylahs dna is going to be more prominent than Scotties. Like maybe a child wouldnt even be pure white just extremely pale and still have the markings. Although the ginger gene is a strong one." Jim pointed to spock grinning before taking a bit out of his sandwich.

"The gene for red hair is recessive Jim, therefore even if both parents are carriers of that gene there is only a 1 in 4 chance that any of their children will have red hair. Jaylah may not even have that particular hair colour present in her genes." Spock stated finally bringing the spoon up to his lips as Jim sat back frowning at the information Spock had just given him.

"Well that sucks, it doesn't even feel like it'd be scotties kid if it isn't ginger."

"Jim, it wouldn't be any less Mr Scott's child if it didn't have red hair."

"Yea you're right, you're always right." Jim pouted folding his arms in disappointment before leaning forward again with his signature smirk in place. "What if Scottie and Alex had had a kid? Then it'd definitely be ginger right?"

"I thought it had been established that Dr Reid was now seeing Dr Mccoy. Moreover, Mr Scott and Dr Reid didn't engage in-"

"Yea yea i know but it'd be way more likely with both parents having the recessive gene, right?" Jim watched as Nyota walked into the mess hall with Alex in tow, filling up their trays while gossiping heavily.

"Im beginning to fear for any redheads on this ship, I'm unsure of you're motives Jim but you are obsessed." Spock smirked as Jim laughed at him, not realising Jim lived for the tiny non smiles he did on a regular basis.

"You're getting better at making jokes Spock I'll give you that. So uh, you and Nyota been talking much recently? It just kinda looks like Dr Reid stole her, i know you both like to talk is all." Jim crossed and uncrossed his legs awkwardly under the table, inwardly scalding himself for his less than smooth line of questioning.

"Indeed we do still talk, however i think it is a good thing for her to have more female friends, i personally do not want to sit a discuss the goings on in Dr Reid's physical relationships but i have been told this is normal for two women to discuss."

"What? They actually talk about that." Jim was dumbfounded, he thought guys were the gross ones.

Spock nodded looking slyly at the pair still filling up their trays. "In great detail, i had the misfortune of over hearing some details before paying Nyota a visit." Spock felt his cheeks heat up slightly at the memory.

Jim watched the green tint reach Spocks ears and resisted the urge to lunge across the table and mash his lips against his Vulcans. _Wait, my vulcan? Oh fuck._ "Was it about Bones? I could use some blackmail material on him."

"It was not, it was to do with… certain aspects of Vulcan biology. I would rather not discuss this can we change topic." Spock pleaded his soup finally gone as he rested both hands on the table in front of him, thankful that they were in a corner booth of the mess hall away from most prying eyes. He would less likely be overheard from here, most humans had terrible hearing.

"No no no you brought it up now im curious. What? was it about was it about her ex?" Jim frowned wondering if he could get any dirt on him, he was hosting there family but the guy hadn't proved himself to not be a complete asshole yet.

"Possibly i believe they were discussing it in more broad terms though. You see… Vulcans have very high sensitivity in their hands." Spock couldn't look at Jim and his curious blue eyes so reverted his gaze to his hands laid on the table. "Which is why Vulcans kiss with our two fore fingers." Spock raised his fingers sticking out both fingers as demonstration.

"They weren't talking about Vulcan kissing were they." Jim said quietly, eyeing Spock's slender hand and outstretched fingers. "Let me guess, Vulcan hands are used for a lot of things but they're also erogenous zones? So if i did this, we're kissing right?"Jim whispered, blue eyes meeting Spock's browns as the padds of his fingers gently pressed against Spocks. _I've done it! i've made the first move! I'm kissing Spock well, kinda. To him i am. This does feel a little weird tho the tips of my fingers are all tingly._

Spocks brain stopped working as he just stared at the place where their fingers were touching. Small sparks of pleasure shooting south as Jim gently moved his fingers against Spocks. _I am in control, i am in control._ One thing he couldn't control was the deep flush of green that had spread across his cheeks to his ears. He didn't know what to do, he could feel Jims affection for him seeping through the point of contact and there was something else. _Want. Lust._ Spock swallowed hard. "Jim." He breathed, voice shaky and low as Jim took Spock's wrist and turned his hand so his palm was upwards facing. Jim didn't respond he'd just watched Spock's face change from that of shock to pleasure and it was one of the hottest things he'd ever seen, he was half hard just watching Spock trying to stay in control.

Spock let out a low growl as jim dragged his fingers towards the centre of spocks palm from his fingertips, eyes rolling into the back of his head momentarily before his eyes met Jims. The low rumble of his growl still going, his pupils dilating so much his eyes looked black from under his lids. He shouldn't have let it get to this, he had been selfish and craved the contact for all but a second and now he was losing control completely. But with all his might he couldn't bring himself to pull away as white hot pleasure pooled, this is inappropriate and… uncomfortable. "Jim, please… we're in the mess hall." Spock managed, voice hoarse. _Why did i let him do this? There was plenty of time for me to avoid the contact yet i did not._

"Oh yea right, sorry." Jim pulled his hand away tucking them underneath the table as if to stop himself from continuing. The atmosphere was charged as an uneasy silence followed. Spock wouldn't look up from the table and Jim was seriously starting to regret taking the leap, not because he didn't want to but because he was genuinely terrified spock wouldn't talk to him at all after this. He'd basically kissed him and felt him up in a room full of people. Even if Spock hadn't outright told him to stop or pulled his hand away he still felt like he'd let that go way to far. He'd let himself get carried away, to focused on the black eyes that had been staring at him like he was a piece of meat. Or a really delicious vegetable, I- what have i done. "Spock I'm sorry, I- I got carried away." He sputtered, covering his face to hide the shame and redness of his cheeks. _Carried away? What so youre saying that in the open now? SPOCK DOESN'T KNOW YOU HAVE A THING FOR HIM YOU FUCKING IDIOT._ "Well I mean-"

"I understand Jim." Spocks voice was level again as he stood up with his tray and left the table without another word. _I must evaluate this occurrence over a session of meditation to understand how it came to be._

Jim raised a hand but stopped himself from calling spock back over. Letting his head fall and hit the table with a loud thud. He groaned at the pain but didn't move. _I'm such an idiot, how do i fix this? Is he even going to look at me after this? How am i going to explain this? Hi Spock sorry i felt you up in the mess hall the other day i think you're hot as hell and really smart and I'd really like it if you let me be more than a friend. What? I can't do this. I can talk to women fine why can't i talk to him?!_

"Alright what happened." Came a familiar voice, but not the voice of reason he needed right now. He lifted his head off the table to see green eyes looking at him from the spot next to him, christ she slid in here quietly.

"I thought you were eating with Nyota, shouldn't you be pestering Bones round about now?" Jim grumbled turning his head back to the table.

"Now Jim I'm starting to get the impression you don't like me?" Alex rose her eyebrows at his tone hearing him sigh and his shoulders slump slightly.

"Sorry, no it's not that. I've just done something really stupid."

"Trying to woo a Vulcan isn't an easy task, I'm not going to tell Nyota if that's what you're worried about." Alex slid down in her seat slightly watching as Jim turned his head to face her from its resting spot in the table a small frown in place. "Don't look at me like that i thought you were together originally until Leonard told me otherwise. You're both idiots."

"Wha- why am i an idiot?"

"Not just you dummy, Spock aswell, maybe even more so at this point actually. Atleast you've seem like you've clicked on to more than he has, you like him don't you?" Her voice was soft and it strangely made some of the tension leave his shoulders and him briefly wonder why he had the sudden urge to confide in her about everything.

Jim paused before sitting up and letting out a long sigh. "Yea, i think it's been there a while but i only realised recently." Saying it out in the open was sort of freeing and genuinely made him feel more in control of the situation which was... Unexpected.

"I guessed as much, show me what happened? I couldn't see much from my table but i have a vague idea."

"We were talking about him overhearing one of yours and Nyotas conversations. Also i didn't know women actually talked about that stuff with each other? But anyway, yea, he was on the subject of vulcan kissing and he'd stuck his hand out with his fingers out, so i just." Jim made the gesture towards her hand and the tips of their fingers met before he turned her hand over and skeptically traced the tips of his fingers down the length of her fingers to the centre of her palm just like he had with Spock, although this somehow didn't feel the same.

Alex let out a quiet low whistle and a tiny mischievous smile tugged at her lips as she looked up from their hands to Jim's face that was full of confusion. "He wouldn't have let you do that if he didn't want you too. I Honestly think he's probably stormed back to his room to meditate and figure out why the hell he let you do it in the first place."

"So? What even is that, like- don't answer that i know kinda what that entails but? He didn't pull away and he fucking growled at me, what's the deal with that?" Jim threw his hands up in exasperation trying to keep his voice low but frowning as Alex started giggling.

"That's an involuntary response that some Vulcans have, i wouldn't worry too much though, he _really_ liked what you were doing." Alex continued giggling slightly and Jim couldn't help the smile that was starting to spread across his face.

"How the hell does Bones deal with you if you're laughing at foreplay." Jim chuckled as Alex continued to giggle, his smile turning into a grin as she had to cover her mouth to stop her laughter.

"I don't think you realise just how bang on you are with it being foreplay, Spock is probably freaked that he let you do that in a room full of people and he didn't lose his shit. And shut up I'm not laughing at that i was laughing at your face when you said 'he fucking growled at me' you looked wounded, like Leonard had hypod you without any warning out of nowhere." She started giggling again causing Jim to join her and rest his head on the table again.

"I was confused i didn't know if it was a good thing or not okay!" Jim whispered loudly jokingly rolling his eyes at her. "So how did the 'test run' go with Bones?" Jim wiggled his eyebrows playfully earning him a slap on the chest as the redhead rolled her eyes.

"Pretty well actually, I'll spare you the details i feel like its a topic neither of you ever talk to each other about and I'm definitely not being the first to break that habit."

Jim brought his hand up in defence. "Hey that's not true we can totally talk about sex without it being weird-"

"While sober." Alex deadpanned raising a brow at her captain in disbelief.

Jim lowered his hand, stopping his accusing point at Alex. "You got me there, but it's not like we forget what we've talked about. I remember some pretty detailed discussions, but yea… all while drunk. We just flow better with certain topics that way." Jim shrugged.

Alex laughed, "Who knew best friends could be so open with each other and so awkward at the same time, i think it's adorable."

"Shut up, i bet you couldn't talk about that shit with someone that isn't Nyota."

"I could, you've just got to be confident in how you speak." Alex retorted taking Jims fork and stabbing at the leftovers on his plate playfully. "I could probably even discuss it with Spock if i was feeling brave."

"Bullshit."

"Please he'd more likely talk about it with me than with you considering he wants to bang you." Alex punctuated her statement with a mischievous smirk.

"You have a filthy mouth." Jim laughed shaking his head as the redhead laughed lightly next to him.

"It's one of the reasons Leonard likes me so much." She winked at Jim causing Jim to chuckle into his drink. "No but seriously, the Spock thing. You just need you tell him how you feel, and you might need to make the first move again. He'll be hesitant not only because you're his captain but you're also his best friend. So don't forget that." Alex pointed at him as she rose from her seat.

"Hey Alex wait." Jim stretched out his hand slightly as the red head turned back to look at him as she slipped out of the booth completely. "Thanks." He gave her a genuine smile and watched as green eyes lit up.

"No problem." She mouthed, the most teeth rotting sweet smile on her face as she finally turned and left Jim to his thoughts. _Right so i need to go talk to Spock. Not now but like soon. He needs to figure things out for himself first._

* * *

"You seriously want to do this?" Alex asked raising her brows at Leonard as she paced the mats, eyeing him with a predatory look on her face.

She was already annoyed, he'd turned up to the gym while she was in the middle of her workout and been nothing but a distraction ever since. Wearing grey joggers and a black vest top he'd started with a 15 minute run then went straight on to bench press, skin glistening with sweat, and those love bites she'd given him on full display. By the time he'd got around to doing curls she was ready to jump his bones. He was pretending he hadnt even noticed her as he dropped down to do push ups, watching the muscles in his back and arms ripple and water drip down them as he poured some of his water bottle over his head had her blood boiling. _Bastard_. It had nothing to do with the fact that he had an audience that were far from subtle, some women doing light weights and others on the treadmills and bikes all ogling him. _He's mine._ He probably didn't even notice, but Alex could see them watching him and it was driving her insane.

Walking over to him she crouched down as he continued to do push ups. Her scowl immediately visible from his peripherals, Leonard let out a small chuckle. "Hey."

"What are you doing?" She huffed, arms folding as she continued to glare down at him. _Is that a smirk on his face?_

"Push ups." He stated matter of factly.

"You know that's not what i mean."

Leonard cocked a brow at her as he moved into a sitting position. "Something bothering you sweet cheeks?" His voice was laced with mirth as he spoke, a certain glint in his eyes making Alex want to punch him in the face and sit on his face at the same time.

"You're bothering me and you are doing it on purpose."

And now here they were. Alone in a sparring room, probably not as alone as they thought because people were probably watching through the one way glass but still. Alex continued to pace the floor before Leonard spoke.

"It was you that suggested this and now you're acting like it was my idea? Sounds Like you're a tad nervous." Leonard folded his arms watching her legging clad legs as she paced the floor. He really should start paying more attention to where his eyes roamed. "Do your worst."

"I Just already feel bad for kicking your ass, but alright fine. Lets go." With that She ran at him, one swift sweep of her leg later and he was on his ass and she was on top of him, straddling him as she went to push her forearm against his throat. Before suddenly her world was spinning as he switched there positions before moving up to press his knees down onto her shoulders so she couldn't move her arms.

"Did you really think it'd be that easy, i might be a doctor but i'm still trained you kno-" leonards eyes went wide as legs came up and wrapped themselves around his waist throwing his body back against the mat winding him. Alex chuckled at the little 'oof' sound he made as he hit the mat hearing him panting trying to regain his breath was satisfying, maybe even a little bit distracting. She could feel his core all tensed up under her legs and had the sudden unrelenting urge to tug his vest over his head and lay wet kisses all the way down to his navel just to make him groan in anticipation like he had so much last night. "You're distracted." He stated before he threw his body to the side letting him get both feet firmly planted on the ground as he stood up, sweat was pouring off him as strong legs were still wrapped tight around his waist. _Not quite the way this usually goes._

His mind immediately snapping out of it as Alex pulled her body up till she was flush against his back, locking an arm around his throat in a choke hold in less than a second. Leonard could feel the adrenaline rushing through him and he knew she must be the same, it was already a challenge in itself sparing with her but he was having to really focus on other things aswell… like willing away spikes of arousal before it became noticeable through his slacks. Something about her being able to hold her own was really doing it for him,he was actually mildly frustrated that he'd chosen to annoy her in a relatively full gym. He frowned, pulling the arm slightly to loosen it until he felt her legs loosen up and drop to the ground with a thud. _She's going to kill me for this._ He thought, as he flung her weight over his head with a grunt. Wincing as she landed sprawled out on the mat with her chest heaving, quickly noticing the grin on her face as she looked up at him.

He laughed as he went and stood at her side, smirking back at her playfully. "We done?" He panted raising a brow thoughtfully.

Alex sighed, swinging one leg around at lighting speed knocking leonard on his ass again so he was sprawled out on the mat beside her. "Now we're done." They both lay there panting for a solid minute trying to regain their breath not caring if there was people still watching from outside Leonard slapped her across the backside as a signal to get up. "I can't get up, you fell on my leg." Alex huffed out between chuckling.

"Right." Leonard sat up feeling his body ache as he finally got back onto his feet. "To much cardio in the space of 24 hours." He groaned slightly bracing his hands on his knees where he was stood.

"We aren't done with cardio for today just yet." Alex stood up looking him up and down before heading towards the doors to the main gym to head back to Leonards quarters. Leonard shivered slightly at the eyes she'd just given him. Maybe he'd done more than annoy her… he jogged to catch up with her as she was about to leave catching her just in the entryway where nobody could see them.

"He-" _umph_. _Have i just been slammed into the wall-_ she was everywhere, that heady after workout smell mixed in with her usual sweet scent was surrounding him, his nostrils flared as lips were on his in less than a second. Her hands tugging at his hair aggressively as the other dug its nails into his shoulders. Leonard sucked in a breath between the kiss returning it hungrily as his hands tried to pull her closer. They couldn't be any closer right now, he was sandwiched between the wall and her body as she pressed herself flush against him. _Jesus christ this is- this is something else-_ He knew he'd been hard almost the instant his back hit the wall but he hoped to god she didn't realise that. It's not that he liked the lack of control, he wasn't one to be submissive in the bedroom. It's the fact she wasn't scared to kick his ass or take control. He'd never been with a woman with this level of confidence a raw passion and it took his breath away. He knew exactly what he wanted her to do, he just hoped she had the same thing in mind.

She pulled away panting, lips swollen from being bitten and sucked. "Your place or mine." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. He may as well have not been given the option. It hardly mattered. "My place then." Alex breathed, her pupils dilating beyond belief as she met his gaze. "Don't look so smug you've annoyed the hell outta me."

_Good_ , it didn't cross Leonards mind for a second that it wasn't healthy how turned on he was by her when she was annoyed, he could only imagine what her being genuinely angry would be like. For what it's worth they ended up at Leonards quarters just because his place was about ten steps closer. He ended up backed against the side if his bed knees bending naturally as he was pushed back.

She was on him like a bee to honey, and he could feel her everywhere. She was in his fucking veins, teeth clashing against his own as she straddled him, leaning up for a split second to rip her top and sports bra off in one go and throw it away as he tried pull off her leggings. Slapping his hand away she did it herself before pushing up his vest top and setting to work leaving wet kisses down the tense muscles of his core, swirling her tongue as she got lower leaving glistening patches of skin in her wake. He couldn't focus, the sensations were all to much and everywhere. The visual as well. She was stood over him stark naked bent forward as she placed feather light kisses too his trapped cock. The cool air seeming to burn his skin where she'd left her trail down his stomach.

"Please, just get on." He groaned, squinting his eyes shut, little white lights dancing behind his lids as she fondled his balls just right, despite them being clothed.

"I knew you had to have some good bedside manners." He could hear the smirk in her voice before he felt his slacks and boxers being tugged down just enough to free his leaking cock. Opening his eyes he had about two seconds to take in what was happening before she was pushing down onto him. His hands flew to her thighs as she sunk lower. Wet heat tight around his tip before she lifted off again.

"I fucking hate you." He growled, letting his head fall back against the mattress as a frustrated frown formed.

"I hate you too Horatio." Slamming herself down onto him she couldn't help the noise that came out of her mouth, Leonard swore, eyes snapping open to see most perfect picture.

"You're fucking gorgeous i hope you know that." He looked up at her face and could tell she was half lost to the feeling as she started to move, her lips were parted slightly and her lids were heavy but there was that smile. He knew she'd heard what he said. Then she started rocking back and forth and Leonard knew exactly what she was doing but by god he wasn't in any mood to be cruel, sitting up he grabbed her by the hips grinding her back and forth on him. He was surrounded by wet heat and the movement wasn't much like this but it was enough, more than enough for him to come, _she's gotta be the hottest thing I've ever seen._ Leonard was already committing this to memory, the gentle bounce of her breasts as she swayed, the way her thighs hugged his sides and her arms found their way into her hair, hands lost in thick curls, moving up just enough to reveal her ears. His breath caught in his throat for a second as her face contorted in pleasure and her eyes opened, green eyes were looking down at him through thick lashes as his name left her lips.

_Jesus, fuck._

Leonard sucked one of her nipples into his mouth longingly before laying back down and shifting his hips, bringing his legs up onto the bed bent at the knee for leverage.

"What're you doing?" She would have actually sounded confused if she wasn't in a haze of pleasure

"Come here." He took both her arms and brought her down so she was hovering parallel to him not being able to move her hips much she frowned, her face inches away from his. _I can't believe nobody has done this with her before._ "Oh sweetheart you're in for a treat." Where the last coherent words said from either of them as he thrust his hips up into her watching as her eyes went wide and she bit down on one of her hands as he pound into her at a bruising pace. "No no, hands- up here- i want to hear you- Alex." Leonard rumbled between pants, pulling her hands onto his chest.

"Leonard, please, please, oh god- ah-" She'd buried her face into the crook of his neck before her head snapped back up, her breathing even more labored now and sounding more like a constant needy mewl. For a second he thought maybe he wasn't gunna last long enough, maybe he wasn't hitting the right spot. Until he felt muscles tighten around him and heard his name in a long drawn out shout, his orgasm hitting him without warning as Alex took over and rode it out of him riding on the waves of her own pleasure. Leonards eyes rolled into the back of his head as his hands gripped her thighs hard enough to leave bruises.

Letting out a satisfied groan he sat up, hands snaking there way around her waist as he smiled up at the most disheveled redhead he'd ever laid eyes on.

"You know i don't think this is ever gunna get old for me, alot of people lose this after a couple of years. But i just… can't see it happening." Bones mumbled, looking at her through fond eyes and loving the way the dimples in her cheeks formed as she smiled. Worming her hands around his shoulders she pressed her lips against his, smile never faltering. Swinging her legs off him she made way to the bathroom.

There was a faint swishing sound and a gust of still air and then- "Bones i really need-" Looking up from his data padd he stopped dead. Eyes unable to look away from the impressive rack in front of him- _STOP STARING THAT'S GOT TO BE-_ "uh- I, er- hi." Jim managed between choking on his own saliva in shock. He knew he shouldn't but he couldn't help but sneak a peek of her ass as she strolled into the bathroom laughing. He'd completely forgotten what he'd came in here for before he turned to see Bones absolutely fuming on the edge of the bed dressed in his gym gear.

"You didn't stop to think maybe it was locked for good reason? Jesus Jim we don't share a place anymore, neither of us should be walking in on the other." Bones sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in attempt to calm himself down.

"Yea yea im sorry look i just wanted you to sign off on some things." He handed Bones the padd clicking his tongue in the pregnant silence. "So… she's hiding a lot under that uniform." Jim winked at him with his infamous shit eating grin firmly in place, even if it was accompanied by bright red cheeks.

"I will eject you out of the nearest air lock." Bones warned pointing the padds stylus at him threateningly, one brow twitching aggressively.

"C'mon Bones shouldn't all the aggression be fucked out of you by now. Unless i just cock blocked because if so I'm really sorry for real because-" Jim let out a long drawn out whistle.

"No you didn't cock block, thank christ. If you had we wouldn't be having this conversation at all, you'd be a human popsicle floating around space already. And the way you're going on that's still a very real threat."

"For real though Bones if you need any tips or advice-"

"I've done just fine without your help for the last 6 times, I'm good." Leonard said matter of factly as he tapped away at the data padd, not once looking away from his work.

"I can't tell if that's a statement or you just denying my help." Jim stroked his chin dramatically. "Hold up 6 ti-"

"It's both." Alex strolled out of the bathroom, fully dressed in her usual uniform dress. " Told you you can't talk about it whilst sober." Alex smirked at Jim while un subtly picking up her stray pieces of gym clothing from around Leonards room.

"What?" Bones frowned looking between the two suspiciously.

"Shut up, just something we were talking about earlier." Jim stretched out his hand taking the data padd off Bones and checking through everything in the list for the third time that day.

"Neither of you can talk about sexual stuff in detail unless you're drunk." Alex chuckled watching Jim turn to face her looking utterly betrayed.

"Not true we've talked about plenty of things sober, just not around the women we're sleeping with." Bones quirked a brow up giving her a quick once over that he could tell under the confident exterior made her squirm. Jim folded his arms in victory.

"Oh, i see how it is, you spoke to Spock yet." Alex countered, switching her gaze to Jim.

"No…" Jim pouted.

"He totally felt Spock up in the mess earlier by the way."

"Why do you hate me i thought we had something good going." Jim whined.

"It's payback for walking in before we'd got to shower."

"I know what that's code for, you're an animal." Jim pointed at her with a comical squint in place while Bones chuckled from his seat on the bed.

"Like you said captain, I'm hiding a lot under my uniform." Alex winked before waving to them both and leaving with the usual sway of her hips hypnotising Leonard till the door shut.

Leonard let out a sigh and Jim turned to look at him. Seeing how zoned out his friend was while staring at the door. "My god Bones you've got it bad." Jim grinned rubbing Leonard's hair playfully.

"Shut up." Leonard snapped, swatting at Jims hands. "So what did you do to the hobgoblin anyway?"

"Ugh i'd hoped you had forgot about that."


	16. Bad company

Only a short one for a change but it kind of sets up everything thats about to hapoen in the next couple of chapters. I hope youre all ready for a wild ride and alot of drama.

Please leave a review!

* * *

"For god sake Monty what did you do." Alex gasped, rushing over to where the scotsman lay against a control panel with a pained reassuring smile on his face as Jaylah stood protectively next to him.

"It's not as bad as it looks lass, a just reconnected the wires in the wrong order, nd the power surge gave me a bit of an electrical burn." He rambled holding his injured arm up the best he could.

"This is not Bones? You said Dr Mccoy would be coming to help?" Jaylah frowned at the red haired woman in front of her, though she was intrigued at the bright colour of her hair she did not trust her yet, she was a new face she hadn't encountered before.

"This is Doctor Reid Lass, she's just as capable as Mccoy i promise' ya tha." Scotty attempted to ease himself off the floor before a pale hand pushed him back down again. Jaylah watched suspiciously as the red head crouched down to his level and reached out for his arm, holding it out gently as she pulled a device from her belt. If Montgomery scotty trusted this woman, Jaylah would try her best too as well, but she wasn't going to let her guard down.

"Don't try and move just yet, let me give it a quick scan before we get you back to med bay." Pulling back the burnt sleeve carefully she scanned the area sighing in relief as she latched the tricorder back onto her belt. "You'll be fine, you need to stop being distracted by a pretty face." Alex rolled her eyes at him grinning as she offered him her hand to pull him up.

"Who has a pretty face?" Jaylah questioned arms folding defensively as Scotty took the arm and hoisted himself up.

"You do." Alex stated matter of factly, offering a genuine smile to Jaylah as she waved to scotty to follow her. Pausing she turned to Jaylah who was glued to her current spot. "You coming?"

"Why?" Jaylah questioned.

"To make sure your man doesn't accidently throw himself out of an air lock on the way to med bay." Alex chided, fist pumping inwardly at the small smirk she got out of Jaylah.

"He has been very clumsy lately, i will walk with you." Maybe, this fire haired woman wasn't so bad after all.

Scotty looked bewildered at the two women walking at either side of him, not liking how he suddenly felt like he was a prisoner being lead to his cell. "I am right here ya know? A can hear every word yas' say."

"You also have pretty face, Doctor." Jaylah commented catching the pink flush that spread across the doctors face as they walked.

"Thankyou." Alex hummed, a certain sparkle in her green eyes as she looked across at Jaylah. Jaylah was curious about this woman, she seemed easy going and not cautious with her like other crew members had been. Of course James T and Chekov and a few others knew her, and were fine around her. But others looked at her as if she was dangerous, but this woman had no uncertainty or apprehension as she spoke to her. Like she knew what it was like to be different and strange. To be looked at with uncertainty.

Scotty scoffed in disbelief. "Now you're flirting with each other? A canny do this, where's Mccoy." he grumbled picking up the pace as they left the turbo lift till he came barreling through the med bays doors. "Oi, Mccoy fix me up lad I've had it with these two."

Leonard smirked at the look of disbelief on Scottys face as he hurried towards his desk, his eyebrows knitted together and eyes rolling as he walked, one arm suspiciously crossed across his chest. "What did you do?"

"Me a dinny do anything they jus- oh you mean my arm. Electrical burn." Scotty rubbed the back of his head awkwardly with his working hand. "i was distracted, me own fault really." scotty rambled, Leonard rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to take scotty by the ear and drag him over to a biobed. Only just, he still grabbed scotty's free elbow a little tighter than was comfortable while guiding the man to somewhere he could sit down while he worked.

"How the hell did you get this distracted?" McCoy ground out slightly annoyed at the man's lack of care for his own wellbeing, that familiar frown forming in his face as he looked at scotty's arm, cutting away his red shirt sleeve slowly as he assessed the damage.

"I uh-" Scotty went slightly pink as he fumbled iver his words, Leonard just rolled his eyes knowing exactly what that meant.

"Women." Leonard muttered, preparing a dressing for scottys arm as he scanned the wound with his tricorder just to be sure he wasn't missing anything. "I'm gunna have to wrap that up for at least 15 minutes before putting the dermal on it, make sure your skins not dry or infected with anything."

"If yer worried about scars Doc i don't mind all that much, i have plenty." Scotty joked, wincing as he tried to gesture with his injured arm.

Leonard looked down on him for a second like he was the stupidest person he'd ever spoken to before just sighing. "none quite like what this one would be like Scotty, it wouldn't be pretty, here take these." Leonard handed him two pills and a cup of water as he started to clean the burned area. "The adrenaline that got you here is gunna run out soon and it's gunna hurt like a bitch when it does. You're welcome." Leonard nodded watching as scotty swallowed the two tablets in unison.

"Cheers."

"So do these markings cover your entire body, they're beautiful." Alex looked up at Jaylahs face slightly awestruck and Jaylah just smiled, it was a rare thing as she was still on guard a lot of the time despite being a part of the crew for longer than Alex. But she liked this woman, she was honest in how she spoke, she did not 'beat around the bush' as Scotty would say.

"Yes, i can show you if you would like?" Jaylah said matter of factly causing Scotty and Leonard to look over at the pair in disbelief. Scotty looking mildly hurt and Leonard just looking on as if Jaylah had just offered a lap dance and his girlfriend had just paid for 'extras'.

"Im flattered that you feel you can trust me enough to do that but it's alright, besides, i think these too are getting the wrong end of the stick here." Alex pointed over to the two men gawking at them from the biobed and Jaylah turned to frown at them.

"Why is it never that easy for us when we talk to women?" Scotty complained looking up at Leonard with a frown, genuinely looking bummed out by this fact. Leonard just laughed, shaking his head as he muttered 'women' to himself again.

"Your hair is like fire and copper wires, is all of it this colour?" Jaylah asked, looking at the curled strands fondly stopping herself from reaching out to touch, Scotty had taught her about certain boundaries she hadn't known about from living on her own so long and she was doing her best to keep to them. Mccoy coughed awkwardly as did Scotty both looking away from the pair, surprised when Alex just laughed it off with a huge grin.

"Yea, auburn hair everywhere, although my leg and arm hairs are weirdly blonde." Alex sported a quizzical look as she contemplated why her leg and arm hair was blonde compared to her very obviously being ginger.

"Auburn?" Jaylah questioned walking around dr Reid taking in the rich array of coppery colours that made up her hair.

"Yea auburn or ginger, its that unique they gave it its own name, i-" Alex jolted forward slightly hand over her stomach as terror shot through her. She felt the tug at her atoms and time seemed to slow down. Jaylah looked worried while saying her name but as her eyes looked up over to the biobed she saw Leonard lookup and the colour drain from his face, fear in his eyes as he sprung into action covering the meters between them in three long strides as he made a grab for her. Just as his fingertips were about to brush her arm she disappeared, her atoms scattering, the fear in her voice as she said his name hung heavily in the air as the entire med bay was thrown into chaos. Leonard didn't move, he just stared at the spot where she was stood, not hearing Scotty shouting at him or Christine telling the rest of the nurses to calm down. That was until the lights turned red and the red alert alarms started sounding. Dread sat deep in his gut at that as he sprant on auto pilot to the bridge, mind running a mile a minute as he tried to come up with an explanation of any kind as to where the hell she'd been beamed too.

The bridge was in chaos as well as Jim shouted orders, stood in front of his chair with this unreadable look on his face. In Leonard shazy state of shock his gut sunk further, there was one voice missing, one voice missing in the shouting of orders and coordinates and intell he should probably care about, but right now didn't give a rats ass about. Looking over to the communication officers station he saw an empty chair.  _Nyota._

"Bones what the-" Jim turned seeing his best friend stood rigid in the middle of the bridge as. People rushed around him, the glassy vulnerable look in his eyes that honestly made Jim shiver slightly.

"She's gone, Jim." Was all Leonard had to say for Jim to understand, Jim's face dropping that little bit more when the words left Leonards mouth. He immediately jumped to make a ship wide announcement to account for everyone else on the ship, still not sitting down, nervous energy forcing him to stand and tap his leg helplessly as he swore to himself.

"Computer do a ship wide scan and tell me if there's anyone else missing. Sulu long distance scan, i want to know if there's any nearby planets and any crafts pulling away from us, clearly they have some sort of cloaking ability if there is a ship but maybe they've let their guard down if they think they've got away with it. Uhura-" Jim stopped dead turning to see another officer now sat at Uhura's station looking up at him with sympathy. The entire bridge went quiet then, and Jim stopped his anger from exploding somehow, grinding his teeth together as he looked up at the officer in her place. "Send a message to starfleet, let them know we've had two officers abducted... and when we find out who by and where, we're going in to get them the hell back."  _Nobody touches my fucking crew._  Jim was shaking, not that he was about to lose it but my god was he pissed, first Nyota and then Alex. Bones hadn't even said another word since he came on the bridge and the look on his face was something Jim couldn't read and he absolutely hated it. Not because it was unreadable oh no, because he could see clear as day that Bones was suppressing everything and that wasn't like him at all.

"There's a nearby planet captain, im getting energy readings from what could be a small craft but they're dissipating fast and have some sort of cloaking capabilities. From what i can tell they're heading for the planet directly below us." Sulu frowned down at the readings on his console, hand twitching clearly wanting to go get the pair back as soon as possible but awaiting his orders.

"It doesn't make any sense. Why only two people. Why would a vessel that small try something against a vessel of our size? Do they expect us to just not care?" Jim was pacing the floor in front of his chair frowning. He couldn't wrap his head around it.  _Unless the planet has stronger defenses and they want us to chace? If there's a way in for that little craft there's gotta be a way out?_ Jims brain was working overtime as he ran scenarios over in his head of the endless possibilities of what they'd want with two random women.  _Maybe they thought we just wouldnt notice._

"Sulu get us close enough that we can see the planet, not to close i don't want them to see us just yet."

"Yes captain."

"Captain if i may we may be able to track the ship and where it lands via the radiation signature from Uhura's necklace." Spock piped up obviously keen on getting Uhura back on board, there was an odd stiffness to his usual pole up the ass posture and it was setting Leonard even more on edge than he already was.

"Why two women?" Leonard asked to himself more than anyone, Jim and Spock turned to look at the doctor who'd remained far to quiet until just now and exchanged worried glances.

"The planet doesn't seem to have any outward signs of protection beyond its atmosphere captain, and i'm reading a very mixed species population despite this planet not being registered in any of the federations databases, it's just on the edge of uncharted space." Sulu turned to Jim with a frown not quite comfortable with their situation and how odd his readings seemed to be.

"What species are we talking here, how did they all get here?" Jim muttered the last part to himself.

"Humans, Klingons, Orions, Edosians, Caitians, Talaxians… and there seems to be some vulcans as well, though only a trace amount compared to the rest of the population."

"Vulcans… on a distant unknown planet when they are needed most back on new Vulcan…" Spock pondered aloud. Glancing between Jim and Leonard as he paused at his station.

"What Vulcan in there right mind would be here instead of on New Vulcan or in starfleet? It's uncharted space for crying out loud!" Leonard ground out deep frown in place as his arms folded across his chest. "Unless… didn't you say something about Vulcan extremists earlier Jim?" Leonard looked up at his friend as if he was pleading with him to tell him he was wrong, his eyes were all glassy and filled with worry and his mouth was set in a tight line. Jim felt his heart sink at the suggestion, knowing it was probably one of the more likely reasons that at least one if their crew members had been kidnapped.  _God damn it Alex._

Jim snapped his gaze away from Bones his Jaw clenched tight. "Bones, spock with me, Sulu you have to con."

"Aye captain." Sulu got up and trudged over to the captain's chair, sitting himself down with a heavy feeling in his gut as he heard the lift doors close.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Chekov asked, his voice quiet as he turned in his chair looking at Sulu with worry in his eyes. Sulu sighed.

"They better be."

* * *

Alex could feel the pounding in her head as she came to. Eyes feeling like they were glued shut as she felt her head swivel uncomfortably on her shoulders, her hand tied a little to tightly behind her wrapped around something hard and cold. She could hear voices faintly and convinced her eyes to open enough to see blurred blobs moving around somewhere in front of her. Who were these people? What did they want with them?  _Nyota. She's here as well._

Everything came rushing back to her as she forced her eyes to open further, the small dark ship, the disgusting man that had tried to put his hand up her skirt, the klingon crew members.

~

" _You're a feisty one aren't you what's your name?" He said, yellow teeth grinning at her as he scratched at his filthy beard, bald head reflecting the blue lights in the room._

" _Go to hell." she spat, jaw clenched as she struggled against her bindings turning to make sure Nyota was alright, at least she wasn't being hassled by any of the disgusting crew members, she doubted any of them would live to tell the tale is they so much as tried to lay a finger on her. That wasn't happening on her watch, no way. Nyota was speaking klingon trying to get answers from some of the other crew members but they all just laughed at her, a human speaking klingon must have been pretty funny in there eyes. She could see the fury in her eyes as she glanced across at the woman, giving her a split second of her attention, she could see the fear pushed deep down as well and she'd never understood an emotion more in her life. Adrenaline pumping through their veins, heightened senses, trying to pinpoint any advantage they had or could get to get the hell out of here. But that gut retching fear that was slowly trying to bubble to the surface as they knew their hands were bound and they were completely vulnerable to their captors. She wanted to be sick._

" _Now now missy we'll have none of that, Missy… i think that's a good name for you, I'll be having words with the boss when we land about being the first to break you in." He was so close now she could smell the stench of his breath as he looked down hungrily at her snarling lips. A hand not so subtly grabbing at her bare thigh and sliding up her dress. Then everything seemed to stop for a split second as she made a glance at Nyota, their eyes locking and the same look of fear and uncertainty flash across her eyes before she snapped out of the moment, snapping her head back up to face her attacker and spitting straight in his eye._

" _I said. Go. To. Hell." She growled, watching the man stumble back and wipe at his eye in disgust. His face contorted in rage as he came back towards her not appreciating the jeers he received from the klingons at being stood up to by a human woman._

" _You fucking bitch." He snarled, she could hear Nyota shouting next to her, screaming with abandon at the vile excuse of a man, before there was a sharp pain in her skull and everything went black._

_~_

"Nyota… are you okay?" She whispered, unable to suppress a groan as her head throbbed seemingly on cue as she remembered the elbow that had struck her hard.

"I'm fine, listen Alex we're gunna get out of here. But where we're going the people they're taking us too. I've had some time to pick up snippets of information, we're headed to a brothel. But there's been some mention of Vulcans aswell and im scared that that mean-" Nyota spoke in hushed whispers trying not to look to much at Alex so not to give away that they were talking. But my god did her face look a mess, that man…  _that awful grimey monster, he'll pay for this_.

"The extremists, god i should have never dated him." Alex groaned again, wanting to put her head in her hands as she lolled her head back against the metal beam she was bound to. "I feel like i'm leaking." Alex muttered wishing she could touch her face, she was starting to feel alot more pain in her face than just the initial throb in her head, was her nose bleeding?

"He… he didn't like the fact you spat on him, i don't think it's broken but your nose is bleeding, he did it while you were..." Nyota looked down at the ground, remembering the incoherent grunts of pain from her friend as she was hit repeatedly while knocked out. She winced to herself, the brutality of the company they were in was an awful sign. The fact he was emotionless about beating a woman to a pulp, until he'd realised he'd be paid less for 'messing up the merchandises face'. Nyota stopped herself from shaking in anger, letting out a steady breath and committing the mans face to memory for later.

"Nyota, I'm fine, it looks worse than it is, besides, they're gunna need to fix me straight up anyway aren't they, gotta have me looking at my best." Alex attempted to laugh but it sounded pained almost like a sob. "We're gunna need to go along with almost whatever they want us too do to survive, i shouldn't have acted up like that, but it was the best way to gauge a reaction from him, at least we know what type of people we're dealing with now." Alex turned to smile at her friend, nose pouring with blood and her left eye swollen, black and blue.

"Alex, we're going to a brothel… i don't think i can do this." Nyota felt her body shake. This time it wasnt anger running through her veins she was scared, she was really fucking scared. Of all the forms of torture there could be they were being taken to be used and abused in such a brutal and intrusive way. There was nothing good about their situation.

"Hey hey, i said almost everything they want okay. Nobody is going to touch us okay. Nobody… I- im scared too, but we can get through this. You know Jim, Spock and Leonard are already arranging a landing party to come a get us, you know it." Alex rushed out her sentence cut short with a gasp as a hand came up and grabbed her by the chin.

"Nobody's coming to get you or your friend Missy. Now no more funny business okay, i didn't enjoy having to mess up that pretty face of yours sweetheart."

Nyota saw Alex still her eyes going glassy as she stared at the ground. "Don't call me that." she muttered, there was a crack in her voice that made Nyota want to cry.  _Don't call me sweetheart, I'm not your sweetheart, I'm not your sweetheart._

"I'll call you whatever the hell i want. Now not another word from either of you! You got it!" They both nodded from there spots, Alex staring down at the small pool of blood forming in the floor from her dripping nose. "Here let me help you with that Missy, can't have you all bloody before we meet the boss now can we." He smiled, eyes swimming with dark mirth as he pulled a tissue from his pocket and wiped the blood away from her nose gently. Before ripping a piece off and with a feather light touch, placing it up her nose just enough that the bleeding would eventually stop.

"Oh i do like you." He said to himself smiling, bringing a hand up to cup Alex's face, brushing his thumb over her cheek in a loving manner. "You've got balls, ah- don't cry sweet thing, i won't do it again. You made me angry you see, you disrespected me in front of my crew, if you be a good girl till we get on planet i promise ya no harm will come to you or your friend. Just stay quiet okay." He lifted a hand up to put a finger in front of his mouth, giving Alex a wink and a grin as he turned away heading to the main part of the bridge. The ship was small but it was big enough that the bridge was at least a good few meters away from where they were tied. Nyota glanced over to Alex her gut twisting when she saw the empty look on the womans face, cheeks streaked with a few stray tears she'd let escape.

 _I'll give you a scar over your other eye before we're through._  Nyota glared over to the bridge, eyes boring holes into the cocky bearded man stood in front of the captains chair with a hand on his hip.  _You're no captain, you're a sociopath._


	17. Bad intentions

So sorry ive been taking so long with these upcoming chapters, been determined to get them perfect even though ive hit a wall of writters block lately, probably due to the fact im moving out soon af now but anway. Enjoy. I've not given up on the story, don't give up on me.

Xoxox

* * *

_They were finally on planet. Finally._

"You know they're going to come looking for us, and when they find us. You won't stand a chance. Do you really think for one second they wouldn't notice that we're gone?" Nyota snapped as the grimey man they'd came to know as Jacobs waltzed back over with a cocky grin on his face cracking his knuckles one at a time as he came and stood in front of Nyota, putting a hand on his hip.

"Thats a lot of fighting talk from such a small woman, are you homesick already? Oh i've got a great idea, lets phone home! Just check in with them show them that you're settling in just great, Kor hail them." He barked.

"You've committed crimes against a federation vessel and you're going to brag to them that you've got away with it?" Alex started laughing, it was a loud hearty sound and it unnerved Nyota a bit at how genuine it was. "God you're stupider than i thought." she sneered watching as Jacobs stalked back over to her looking particularly perplexed by her behaviour.

"What did i say about keeping quiet Missy? Now i'm gunna have to punish you again in front of your friends." A grin stretched across his face.

"Hailing them now captain." One of the klingons spoke in broken english.

"On screen."

The front monitor of the ship was suddenly filled with colour as Jim's face filled the screen, Leonard and Spock stood at his sides. Alex tried her best to ignore the look that crossed Leonards face when he saw her, but there was un adultered fury in his eyes now as he saw both of them tied up and the black eye she was sporting. Other than that they were all stony faced, not giving away their emotions in the slightest as Jims voice came through like gravel. Harsh and commanding.

"I'm James T. Kirk, captain of the USS Enterprise, you've committed crimes against a federation vessel, return our crew members safely and i will spare you the consequences."

"Obviously that won't be happening, i just thought i'd drop you a call before we meet with the boss, the girls were feeling a bit homesick. And this one-" he grabbed Alex by the neck and dragged her body about half an inch of the ground. "Has been mouthy."

"Put her down!" Nyota cried straining against her bindings, angry tears building behind her eyes as she watched Alex's arms writhe behind her as choking sounds filled the room. Her toes straining desperately to give her some form of extra support though they were hardly helping her out of the man's vice like grip around her throat.

Leonard was gritting his teeth, he didn't want to see this. Staring at the ground he frowned, fury and pain all whiring in his head like a storm. He was hurting her and he couldn't do anything about it. Not from here. He could feel a burning behind his eyes as his fists clenched tight, knuckles draining of colour as he heard the continued sound of her choking. Jim looked physically pained watching the events unfold on screen. He didn't know her quite as well as Bones but.  _Shes tied up she cant even fight back. Why is he doing this. Stop it. Get your hands off her._

"That's enough! I'm pretty sure she'll be keeping quiet from now on." Jim bellowed, scowl now present on his face as he watched the red head lurch forward coughing as her feet finally returned to the floor.

"What do you want with them? Who are you working for?" Leonard ground out between gritted teeth, eyes on fire as stared down a soon to be dead man. Or at the very least a man who was going to rot in a cell for the rest of his life.  _If i don't beat him to death first._

"See they're worried about you and your friend Missy, and you're just making them more worried. Should i tell them where you're going hmm? I don't think he'd like it, he's soft on you that one isn't he? Or maybe not so soft, you look far to used to being ragged around." He cackled kicking Alex's legs out from under her so her knees hit the floor with a crack, watching Leonard with a hawk eye as the man winced in reaction. "You know, you boys seem hardy enough and me and my boys have been itching for a good fight lately so i'm gunna give you a clue if you dare to even come down here…" He turned away from the screen mumbling something to himself before turning back around with a manic grin on his face. "If you've got the money, we've got the honey."

Something in Leonard snapped then and he saw Jim and Spock go still beside him. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." He growled, frown getting deeper and deeper as his jaw locked itself in place in anger.  _My- Alex and Nyota, fuck- a whore house? Red light district. This is fucked. They're probably scared shitless. If they so much as lay a finger on either of them i swear-_

"No not kidding, although i think there's extra plans for you, he hasn't let me in on them and it's been annoying the hell outta me. What are you hiding Missy?" He cupped Alex's face again looking completely away from the screen as a tear ran down her face. "You wanna say something huh? Go on then whisper it to me, huh?" Jacobs cocked a brow at whatever it is he'd heard looking back up to the screen with curiosity in his eyes. Taking a hand and brushing her hair away from her face he tucked it behind her ears. Nyota gasped looking across at Alex. And Jacobs just stared in confusion.

"Should have let you do those tests Doc. I'm sorry." She smiled weakly before the feed cut off abruptly.

"Shit." Leonard put his head in his hands eyes squeezed shut as his head imploded.  _Who the the hell are we dealing with here. What are they planning to do with her. How do they know?_

"Impossible." Spock simply stated unmoving from where he was originally stood as the call had ended.

"Bones, Spock ready room one now. Sulu send that recording to my padd. I don't want any interruptions!"

"Aye captain!" Sulu replied settling back into the captains chair as Jim dragged the others to towards the lift.

"You've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do." Jim spat, no real anger in his tone but he was clearly very annoyed. He hated being kept in the dark. "So our new doctor. Human or Vulcan? Why the hell didn't you tell me about this Bones?" Jim snapped as the lift re opened.

"You're seriously going there? How bout asking the right questions Jim? Like what the hell are they going to do to them, are they going to experiment on her? How the hell did they find out?" Bones snapped as they all barreled through the door into the ready room. "She told me there was only one other person she'd told. And i highly doubt if she was keeping it this secret her family are gunna be the ones that have dropped her in it. Look Jim. She thinks she's human. Her scans say she's human, she bleeds red. I can't tell you anymore without tests. She's under the impression… or was under the impression it was a disfigurement or weird birth defect. " Bones sighed out his last sentence. Dropping down into a chair near the head of the table and putting his head in his hand, eyes becoming glassy and unfocused as he gazed past the other two figures in the room into open space. "I can't do tests or take blood samples without consent, and she said no."

"It is possible she is both, but the way forward is clear, in order to make a plan of action we must first learn as much as we can about their captors. We will need to analyse the hail recording for any information missed or details that may give us a lead to the person behind all this. Leonard we will need to contact Alex's Mother and father, there is clearly something going on and under the circumstances they will have to be truthful in order to help their daughter. Computer send a message to Torin requesting his presence in ready room 1 immediately. Make it clear he must come alone." The computer beeped in affirmation as both men looked at him with confusion. "With the 'defect' such as the one Alex appears to have, it is logical to assume she'd confided in someone with a similar looking 'defect.' If i am correct we may also be able to get a lead on the Vulcan behind this, Torins ship was sabotaged purposefully, probably by the same Vulcan behind this incident." Spock had spoke so quickly in order to get all the information out he was unsure if the two humans staring at him in bewilderment had actually heard any of what he'd said, that was until Jim piped up.

"I love the way your brain works sometimes Spock. Bones you get on that family thing, find her parents contact details, comm them on her data padd. Something. I'm gunna analyse the video listen out for any muttered words or signals from the girls."

"We also need to consider that some form of deal may have been struck between the pirates and the Vulcan perpetrator. They may be separated on arrival, Nyota could end up alone." Spocks voice became quieter as he was clearly doing the calculations in his head. Ignoring both men next to him not letting any emotions he may be feeling cloud his judgement.

"Alright let's get to work." Jim slapped his hands on the table going into a secluded section of the ready room inserting an earpiece almost immediately. Jim was doing a stand up job of not letting his emotions show, he wouldn't admit that he was panicking slightly. They didn't have much time, if either of the girls were going to a place like that…  _there's only so long they can avoid people before being forced into something… forced to…_ He scowled at the video as it began to play.  _That's not gunna happen to them. It can't._  He felt bad to have even thought it but he was slightly relieved that Nyota wasn't on the receiving end of any of that bastards beatings. Not that she wouldn't be able to take it, it was just… Nyota was his friend, she was a good friend. And Alex, well she had potential to be a good friend but she just, she hadn't been here long enough. And it stung, the feeling of guilt ached in his gut as he willed himself to focus. He knew Bones was reeling, the look in his eyes gave everything away. But then again, he knew her, she'd let him in so he knew her alot better than Jim, and maybe that's why it was hurting him more than Jim, seeing her with a black eye and dried blood on her face and watching her choke as some asshole strangled her. Jim wouldn't lie, he was furious about it, livid in fact, that that grimey man had laid a finger on her but she wasnt Nyota. He liked her, but she hadn't been there from the beginning. He pushed the guilt down as he got to work, he'd have to deal with that later when they were back safe and sound.

* * *

Leonard stormed down the corridor back to the medbay, grabbing Alex's padd from an empty biobed ignoring all the eyes on his back as he made a quick exit. Refusing to look at the spot on the floor where she'd disappeared. Storming back to his room he threw himself onto his sofa pulling up her dads contact details before glancing down at the table seeing his old notebook on the coffee table the black leather worn and dry with his pen laying next to it.  _That's not how i left it this morning._  Something was telling him to reach out and open it, but he flinched his hand away as he brushed the cover. Did he really want to see what was in it? If there was anything in it that wasn't put there by him?  _Yes. It can only be her. That's the only person it could be. No. If you don't do something soon you're going to give yourself time to think, it's going to sink in sooner or later that she's fucking gone you need to get her back before it does and it fucks you. You don't want to feel that just yet._

But his fingers itched and he grabbed the book anyway as if it would run from him if he wasn't fast enough. Opening the page he was last on and seeing the drawing of her sound asleep in his bed already had a lump forming in his throat, she looked at peace, like nothing in the world could interrupt her dreams, a stark contrast to the bloodied bruised face he'd seen a few minutes ago. But the words she'd wrote on the opposite page made the lump impossible to swallow, and Leonard tried to swallow it anyway, choking on the turmoil as he kept re reading the line over and over again as the elegant curves of her handwriting burned into the forefront of his mind.

_I'm not going anywhere_

He felt it then. The sting. The pang of pain and the nausea hitting him all at once. This was how he felt everytime a crew member was endangered but somehow right now, it was worse, the burning behind his eyes, the frustration and anger, the sick feeling and the pain?  _The panic._ Taking a deep breath he willed himself back together. He wouldn't let it stay this way. The one person he'd let his guard down for, he had been happy.  _I was happy._ The one person that had broke through the walls hed put up around his heart, and how she'd seen right through all his walls like they were nothing but fogged up glass that she had to brush her hands over gently to get a clearer view of what was inside. He wouldn't have it.

Picking up her data padd with renewed vigor he hit the dial button. Not caring if he looked crazy or stricken, his frown settled on his face and his lip set itself in a line. But his eyes didn't stop giving everything away.

"Ace? Its late-"

"Alex is gone, we need your help to get her back." Leonard cut the older man off with choked words and saw something wash over the graying man's face as he finally focused on the screen and the brown eyes looking at him. Eyes that most definitely weren't his daughters. There was confusion there but there was something else,  _understanding_.

"What do you need from me." The reply was instant, straight to the point and no hassle, as if he knew the urgency of the situation. Leonard let his respect for the man grow tenfold for keeping his cool and not wasting valuable time.

* * *

Everything was familiar, but it wasn't… it was dark, and she wasn't alone. She couldn't see but there was somebody else here, they were close, letting out shaky breaths what had to be mere meters away from her. But wherever they were, it smelt… Sterile? Sort of homely like the med bay. No. Not homely at all. Her mind started to race as she registered she was tied to a chair, there was only one thing that she'd be down here for, she'd like to think she'd be braver than this but knowing they were probably going to experiment on her and torture her. She felt her chest tighten, and her breathing became erratic. Struggling in vain against the chair she let out a silent whimper. She hated the dark. She hated not knowing. She had to know. Not knowing gave her no preparation time, no plan of action or escape. Not knowing gave her nothing. The pitch blackness was engulfing her little by little and made whatever space she was in feel like the smallest space shed ever squeezed into, despite any small noises reverberating back to her ears off surfaces with certain metallic ring. The room had was obviously pretty big but the blackness was all consuming.

"Alex… is that you?" Nyotas words floated in an almost silent whisper from her left. Alex felt herself calm down slightly. She had someone else to take care of now, someone that wasn't herself. She could ground herself with Nyota here with her. She tried to turn her head to catch a glimpse of her friend in the pitch black but she saw nothing. Atleast im not alone, don't leave me alone in the dark.

"Yea… i thought for a second, they'd separated us and i-" Alex choked on her last words as another bout of panic shot through her. She really needed to get a grip,  _i'll be fine when i know who I'm dealing with and what their plans are, just keep it together until then._

"You don't need to say it, Im the same. I just wish i knew what we were dealing with." Nyota let out a small sigh, a sense of dread building in her gut at being kept in the dark, metaphorically and literally.

There was a loud swish and a breeze of cool air as a door was opened somewhere in the room and Alex could tell she wasn't the only one swiveling her head around to try and catch a glimpse of something anything despite it being hopeless. Steps echoed in the room for a time before they stopped dead. Seconds went by and all Alex could hear was her heart trying to beat out of her chest as Nyota sucked in a huge breath.

"You're right, i think it is about time you knew what you were dealing with, i do apologise about the restraints, but it was the only logical thing to do to stop you from running." The voice was cool and level as a loud snapping sound filled the room before it was flooded with light. Alex squinted mercilessly in the direction of the voice, trying to focus but only being able to make out a grey blurred figure after being flashbanged. The lanky blur stood between rows and rows of rectangles. Bio beds… they were biobeds. A white wash room with blue and steely grays trims,  _all so familiar… All so foreign._

"Who are you? And what do you want with us?" Nyota piped up her vision finally focusing in on the tall slim vulcan in front of them as he walked towards them both with indifference. His lips thin set it what looked like a constant grimace of disapproval.

"My name is _lesh zherka hasu_  or in federation standard; Lyras. You are merely here as moral support, most humans seem to perform better with another human at their side to provide comfort. No harm will come to you." He gave a pointed look at Nyota before turning his gaze towards Alex his eyes seeming to dissect her, picking apart her every flaw and analyzing her every feature, taking note of the imperfect curls and illogical splay of freckles across her skin. Alex just glared up at him, he was tall and slim even by vulcan standards, his nose was perfectly straight if not a little big and his eyes looked slightly too close together with there dark grey irises, forever slightly squinting under thick pointed brows. "I use the term human loosely until we find out for certain if you're a halfblood."

Something in Nyota was screaming as the phrase left his lips, despite there being no change in his tone and the flatness of his voice that there was a threat behind the words, a sense of oppressed aggression in the way he moved. She watched intently as he pulled on a pair of rubber gloves just to push Alexs' red curls behind her ears before tying her hair back with an elastic band.  _No harm will come to you? What is he going to do to Alex, is he crazy. Why does being mixed race warrent punishment?_

"Well you better get on with the tests then hadn't you?" Alex spat raising an expectant brow at the vulcan hovering beside her. "Can i make a small request before we get started, we're already tied by our feet and waist to these chairs why not free our hands? Or at least one of them? It's really uncomfortable having them pinned behind your back for so long." Alex grunted with a frown. She honestly wasnt really planning anything just yet, but it was extremely uncomfortable being tied at such an unnatural angle for so long.

"Do you really think i lack the intelligence to see through your plan? You merely want your hands free as a means to escape." Lyras countered turning his attention to her ears as he kneeled down removing one of his gloves.

"Don't touch them." Alex whined trying to lean away from the hand that was getting closer to her face. Leonards smiling eyes flashed behind her lids for a split second before the image was gone, left with this strange face crouched before her with slightly overgrown black bangs.

"And why shouldn't i?" Lyras paused locking grey eyes with green ones. She hated these type of Vulcans, they thought they were superior to every other race because they could control and repress every emotion under the sun, they were so entitled it made her want to kick them square in the jaw to knock some of the smugness out of them.

"Because you wouldn't like it if i started giving you a hand massage in front of your best friend now would you? Logically there is no reason for you to need to touch them, apart from curiosity, which would be better answered by doing the tests that you originally set out to do." She kept her voice calm and level as she maintained eye contact, she would not come across as weak to him.

"Indeed i would not, i presume from your use of metaphor that they hold a certain level of sensitivity." He raised a brow and reached out again nearly brushing the tip of her ear before she jerked away. "However, curiosity is not an emotion that is frowned upon in Vulcan culture." He finished with what appeared to be the smallest of frowns.

"But it is still an emotion you should be in control over nonetheless, is this why you're an outcast? Being a kinky little vulcan and wanting to touch things when you're not allowed." She tried to suppress the growl in the back of her throat but failed, but knew she'd succeeded in something when she saw a fleeting change in his expression before it returned to stone again. "Do you crave to be touched a little too much by Vulcan standards? Thats it isn't it? You're too curious." She was doing her best to try and read him, she knew she wasn't exactly being pinpoint accurate, but she knew for sure that this particular Vulcan whilst he was ungodly curious, he could also be unstable.  _He must be unstable if he's the one that took down Torins ship, three pure blooded Vulcans could have died just because one had had previous relations with a human._  "Three pure blooded Vulcans could have died by your hand just because one of them had had previous relations with a human? What kind of fucked up logic were you following where that made any sense?" She was leaning forward till she was right in his face watching the cogs turn behind his eyes as she ripped into him with her own logic. Logic that shouldn't, but was, beating his own.

"It turns out i will be releasing one of your arms in order to take a blood sample, if you try to fight back i will subdue you." He stated matter of factly his eyes flickering away from hers as he moved away.  _I've done it ive shook him up. Just a little bit._

"I think you were right about him being kinky Alex, do you speak to your mother with that mouth Lyras?" Nyota chuckled while giving Alex a knowing look as they both shared a smirk, Nyota could see what Alex was trying to do, she may not be the one that was trained in reading people but she knew all about language and communication, and she'd be damned if she wasn't going to put it to good use against a racist asshole that had plans to hurt her friend. _Something has to be wrong in his head if he thought taking out three Vulcans made sense over tracking down the human. Wait, that must be what Alex is doing. She's trying to get into his head, she's pshycing him out._

"You know personally i don't understand your hatred of humans or Vulcan and human offspring, care to enlighten me?" Alex sighed looking over at the lanky figure expectantly, who was bringing over a very familiar device along with a small knife. He paused in front of her unmoving for a second. "You have my word i won't move if you answer the question." She raised a brow at him as he gave her a dead stare.

"Vulcans and Humans are two separate species who hold wildly different beliefs, humans are weak and are plagued by emotion. A Vulcan with the inability to control emotion and adhere to logic is no Vulcan at all, it doesn't make logical sense to want to taint the perfectly strong genetics of Vulcan biology with that of a humans. Therefore i have took it upon myself to put a stop to it by any means necessary."

"Taint? Now hold on a second first of all how dare you. We're wildly different species but our emotions are what make us strong. And secondly, how could you call a child conceived out of love tainted? You can't put Love down to logic or control. Even if they are conceived to parents who don't love each other or aren't bonded every species in this damn universe has pride and love over their child no matter its genetics. So before you start preaching about logic and control just remember..." she leaned forward with an angry snarl and a murderous look in her eyes. "Your plagued by the worst emotion of them all. Hatred. And by god have you let it blind you."

"Enough!" His voice boomed, but only enough to keep her quiet for a second or two. Despite the anger barely masked as he cut her wrist ties before yanking her hand towards him sticking in the device and drawing blood.

Alex barely even winced as her anger intensified, her teeth grinding together as she glared at the man with disgust in her eyes. "You know what's worse, i feel sorry for you, i used to have a certain sympathy for Vulcans, a race so scared of their own emotions that they decided it would be better to get rid of them completely. But you haven't even managed that have you Lyras? You've lost control of your emotions and worst of all, you've let hatred control you.  _lesh zherka hasu_. One who carries emotion.  _Not someone whos controlled by it_." She saw the flash of movement and fury behind gray eyes before there was a sharp pain in her shoulder and everything went black.  _Again_.

* * *

"Why do you even have something like this Bones?" Jim asked eyeing the device wearily. The blur plastic casing shining in the bright lights of the med bay.

"Scotty came to me with the idea and needed some of my medical know how to help make it reality, he thought it'd be helpful for undercover stuff." He lied, Scotty literally just wanted to make it for the hell of it to see if it was possible.

Jim gave him a look of disbelief at that but didn't say anything. "So what are we all gunna grow long flowing hair so nobody will recognise us-"

"No you idiot, well i'm not saying we couldn't but i was more thinking facial hair, might also be a good idea to grow Spock's hair a tad so it covers his ears, just so he isn't instantly recognisable." Leonard gave Spock a somewhat sympathetic look before taking the device off Jim and tugging them both over to a mirror in one of the changing rooms. "Don't go crazy with it because it works pretty damn fast." Leonard stared at his reflection in the mirror before lifting his chin and raising the device to his face as if he was about to shave with it. With a click of a button the end that was touching his skin glowed a faint fluorescent blue before hair started to visibly snake its way out from under his skin, moving it slowly up his jaw only stopping when it connected with his sideburns. Wiggling his jaw slightly to get rid of the tingling sensation he looked over at Spock and Jim, just to see them both looking curious and Jim looking slightly mortified despite his obvious excitement. "What?"

"Finish the rest of your face then pass me it." Jim ordered, eyeing the device with the excitement of a child.

"It is fascinating seeing hair grow at such an accelerated rate, though i imagine it is a very foreign sensation."

"You can say that again." Bones chuckled as he moved the device further down his jaw making sure not to miss his mustache before tilting his head in the other direction, pulling the device slightly further away from his skin to help the hair gain more length. He hadn't had a full beard in a long time. Starfleet required their doctors to be very well kept and preferred them to be clean shaven to avoid any possibility of contamination. But damn did he miss having facial hair. Finishing up he took a second to look at himself in the mirror frowning at the difference it made to his appearance.  _I look good. I wonder if Alex is gunna like- that's not the reason we're doing this stop being vain._

"Yea yea Bones you look great with a beard now move its my turn." Jim ripped the device out of his hand and got to work on his own face, not noticing brown eyes following his every movement as blonde and ginger facial hair started to make itself known. It took them about half an hour in all to sort out there very real disguises, Spock taking the longest since he had to do his face and head. By the end of it Jim looked like a slightly ruffled but good looking homeless man with a strangely well kept beard but slightly overgrown head of blonde hair, now having to sweep back his fringe ever so slightly. Spock discovered his hair actually began to go slightly wavy rather than being pin straight the longer it got, and though he complained about having to add facial hair he did it anyway, as well as attempting to grow extra eyebrow hairs to make himself appear slightly more human. Jim definitely wasn't complaining about the facial hair, or Spock's long bangs, he was a little shaken up if he was honest, especially when spock gave him his signature eyebrow raise. It felt like he'd been struck by lightning and all he could do was just stare momentarily at how wild Spock looked before mumbling something about zoning out and apologising, smacking Bones as he rolled his eyes at him.

"I'll be right back need to grab some things before we get ready."

Jim watched as Bones left the changing room and felt an awkward silence settle as soon as the door slid shut behind him. The silence making him fidget straight away and the need to fill it was too powerful.

"So… why are you so against facial hair, i mean you suit it what's the issue?"  _that was casual, smooth, nice, don't make it weird_. Jim watched as Spocks mouth twitched up into one of his none smiles and felt himself die a little bit.  _He's doing this on purpose oh my god_.

"I'm of the opinion that it isn't a professional look for a science officer, and the upkeep is hardly worth the time, though with your current reaction to it i am reconsidering it as a possibility." Spocks voice dropped half an octave and Jim had to process if he'd heard him right or was just distracted by his lips as he watched them move.

Jim frowned, blue eyes meeting brown. "What did you just say?"  _What? What? Did he just-_

"May i ask why you are so adverse to having any facial hair, Captain? When it very obviously compliments certain features."

 _What. Is. Going. On_.

Jim opened and closed his mouth multiple times before Bones came bursting back into the room shouting them both over, saving Jim from making a fool of himself without realising it.  _It's time to go save the day_. Jim could feel his heart pounding in his chest for a very different reason than it should have been as they all headed to the shuttle bay.


	18. Vacant

I should probably put a trigger warning on this chapter but im not sure what to pit just. Heavy angst ahead. Alot of pain. Trauma. Etc.

* * *

Nyota was seething, still tied up, wrists burning from the constant friction straining against her bindings. "You don't like hearing the truth huh? How human of you." the words left her lips like venom dripping from a cobras teeth.

"How brave of you to continue on with this topic." The strange Vulcan didn't even spare her a glance as he spoke, cutting a lock of hair from Alex's head he turned on his heels walking to the other side of the room. Nyota watched him like a hawk, even the way he put on latex gloves was hateful, the material slapping back against his wrist with unnecessary aggression.

"What happens if the tests come back positive?... What if she is half human and half Vulcan?" Nyota asked becoming deathly still as she watched the man separated the blood sample he'd taken into six separate tubes, labeling each with scary precision. She didn't like the look he gave her after that, the raised brow and those hateful grey eyes, they were so cold and unfeeling it made her physically shiver as she maintained eye contact.

"I had previously planned to exterminate her. Though given time to meditate and think i came to the conclusion that that would be a far too quick form of punishment." He said matter of factly. Nyotas heart rate quickened as his intentions were finally brought out into the open. He wasn't to be messed with.  _He's far to unstable. He's a psychopath._ "She will be marked, people will know her for what she is. I also wanted to make sure she was unable to breed, the surgery is one many doctors on this planet are familiar with it would have been simple. Perhaps after that i could return her to your ship, or leave her fend for herslef on a planet she doesn't know. But alas-" he sighed turning to look Nyota straight in the eye. "Jacobs convinced me she'd be much more useful and profitable being put to work, i could still perform the surgery of course, stop her from breeding which many would see as useful in a whore house. But leaving her the possibility to carry the child of a stranger in her belly seems a much better way of punishment than i could ever think of."

A tear streamed down her cheek as she looked at the face of her unconscious friend, nose bloodied and eye swollen with splashes of purple and red.  _She didn't ask for this. Nobody asks for this, this isn't fair._  "You want them to rape her? You want to scar her and you- what is wrong with you?" her voice cracked as she looked over at him, an incomprehensible look on her face as her eyes scanned his features for any trace of humanity. "You won't get away with this."

"Oh but i already am. I'm running the tests as we speak, the last one could take a while you see." He flicked his finger towards a blank wall from his data padd and Nyota watched in bewilderment as face after face flashed up against the white wash wall one after the other, there profiles off to the side as there chromosomes were being overlaid and scanned against Alexs. "You see, i have access to the entire New Vulcan registry programme, which contains dna from every living Vulcan that survived the destruction of our home world."

"You hacked into that-"

"I did, but there's nothing they can do until my scan is complete. A simple array of subroutines to redirect them and any attacks they try to make are in place, thats if they even manage to find the data leak before i've finished. I've even narrowed the search down to entirely female Vulcans which cuts our search time down drastically. If this bares us no results i will have to take to searching the data records of the deceased." His tone never faltered or changed as he spoke, sounding as if this were just an everyday math problem that he was knuckling down to solve and not that of living things.

"How did you find out about her and Torin?" Nyota spoke keeping her voice level as she pushed down all the emotions that were threatening to spill over.  _I've got to keep a level head, i can have a breakdown when i'm back on the ship. I cant believe ive been dragged into this as a bonus for Jacobs, i shouldn't even be here! He doesn't want me im just collateral to him, son of a bitch. If he thinks for one second that im not something he needs to worry about hes wrong, he's took me from my station and he's going to hurt Alex. She's my first real close friend on the enterprise thats not Jim or Leonard or Spock or Male!_

"He told me. I was stationed in Yorktown for a short while and had arranged to meet him for lunch. In essence he confessed to having thoughts of leaving his intended for this…" he scrunched his nose up in disgust at Alex before returning his attention to Nyota, not realising his emotional control was starting to waver the more he discussed his plans. "This human, this genetic travesty... He didn't mention her ears, or how they bared a striking resemblance to our own. But as soon as i made my distaste clear at his suggestion he became defensive. He told me that she was his Thyla, and no man nor Vulcan should speak against her in such a way to him in honor of the rarity of finding one's Thyla. He was stupid, his emotional control had failed him. He'd become obsessed with her." Lyras Spat in disgust before regaining his composure.

"He was in love." Nyota added, she knew she didn't know the full story behind Torin and Alex and had a gut feeling she knew more or less some of the things that may have occurred during their relationship, but at least she could safely tell Alex for certain that he had loved her. No matter what had happened he had definitely loved her.  _He thought she was his soul mate, his Thyla. I wonder what happened to make him leave._

"I told him if he did not leave her i would tell his family of his affair, he stated that his intended and his family would understand, since it was an arranged marriage she likely longed after someone else, that his family would not think any less of him or his chosen mate. So what could i do…" Lyras paced back and forth fingers woven together and a look of disinterest in his eyes.

"You threatened them… You threatened his family to make him leave?" Nyota was stunned, she didn't think even Alex was going to be able to take all of this in. "Then why come back for her? Why now, they've both moved on, they are both living their own lives. Why attack his ship?"

Lyras almost laughed. It was an unnerving sound almost like a snort. "Of course i threatened them, i also made it clear that if he bore any offspring with her then I'd be there when he least expected it, of course he didnt listen at first… but i was always keeping track of them after that day. If he hadn't had answered my question so honestly i would have never known. Of course Alex fell pregnant, i believe she kept this information to herself as she attempted to figure out what to do but alas-" Nyota could feel the fury rise in her chest as she started to shake.  _No. He couldn't._

"Don't say it." Came a quiet voice, Nyota watched Alex's slumped over figure began to shake in her seat. Her mess of hair covering her face from everyone in the room as her head hung lose on her shoulders. Everything was silent. Nyota looked over at her friend looking for something to say something to comfort but no words came. And then she heard it. The tiny plop of water hitting the ground. Her eyes fell down seeing the minuscule wet patch now on the floor. Before another fell and another, the pitter patter of tears falling deafening in the silence before Lyras remembered where he'd left off. Nyota ignored the man instead feeling her friends pain as she couldn't hold back the tears of her own. Not anymore.  _I'm so sorry Alex. I'm so so sorry._

"i poisoned her just enough to ensure the fetus wouldn't have the chance to grow. Torin had no idea of course but left soon after for fear of me hurting her."

"Why did you come back for me." Her voice shook as she spoke. But there's wasn't just tears of pain anymore and as she lifted her head Nyota saw it. There was black fury in her puffy red eyes even as the tears still streamed out of them. A suppressed anger in her tone that had been unlidded and was rising at a terrifying pace.

"Because after all these years, he tried to contact you again. But you weren't home, you were on the enterprise. What are you doing? Sit down at once." Lyras watched as she rocked herself forward onto her feet her eyes never leaving him as she stood back hunched as the chair came with her. A sinister smile crossed her features before she threw herself into the air backwards smashing the wooden chair into pieces.  _Maybe wood wasn't the best idea._ Nyota thought as Alex scrambled to her feet, the look on her face didn't scare Nyota,but that was only because she understood it. It was the look of a mother at someone who'd hurt her baby. Alex stalked over as Lyras stood at the other end of the room, crouching down next to Nyota and untying her hands and feet in a timely fashion.

"Sit down now or i will sedate you."

Nyota turned to Alex angry tears streaming down her face as she saw the broken look on her friends face. "You listen here Alex, you get him, you get that bastard. And you don't stop until you can't lift your arms anymore, you don't ever stop." Nyotas bottom lip quivered as she saw her friends mask of anger crack and crumple infront of her as fresh tears filled her eyes. Putting her head against Nyotas she let out a sob. A heart retching sound for anyone that bore witness to it.

"He took my baby, all these years… i- i thought it was me, he took my baby away- Nyota- it wasn't his choice to make… it was mine. It was supposed to be mine!" Alex finished with croaky shout, Nyota couldn't speak as she sobbed alongside her friend, their foreheads pressed together and their tears making a pool on the ground. Grabbing Alex's hand she looked up through her tears into torn green eyes.

Squeezing her hand she swallowed hard, the amount of pain Nyota was in just hearing all of this come to light, the pain she felt for Alex must have been nothing compared to what Alex felt. "He's gunna pay for this sweetie, he's gunna pay. And we're gunna get home safe alright."

Alex nodded through watery eyes, sniffling as she stood up straight head snapping back up to where Lyras still stood. Then she was walking towards him, stalking towards him like a predator to prey and if he was scared he wasn't showing it. But he should have been scared. Fear and hate go hand in hand after all. Alex stopped in front of him staring him down without saying a word. Beeping to their right made both of them turn and stare as there was a green flashing on one of the monitors, then another one started beeping and another before the screen cast to the wall started screeching aswell and the word 'match' in huge letters filled the screen. Alex didnt care much for whoever it was that she'd matched with. Not right now at least. Turning back to him she smirked. Before launching herself at him wrapping herself around him like a koala bear, heels digging into his thighs as she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, locking them into a choke hold as he slammed her into the wall to try and shake her off.

" _This is for my baby."_

She whispered into his ear before biting down on it, feeling the cartilage crunch as it gave way while his pained scream filled her ears. Nyota couldn't help the rather sinister smile that crossed her face. She wasn't a violent person by any means but if anyone deserved pain, it was him. And as she stood watching she couldn't help but feel some sort of pride, it wasn't much penance but hell Alex deserved some kind of revenge for what the sick bastard had done to her. The door burst open giving Nyota whiplash from where she was stood as she turned to see a group of armed guards rushing in clad all in black from head to toe, even their faces covered by balaclava. She turned to shout to Alex before one of them had shot at her, her shout cut short, her eyes locking with worried green orbs as she felt her knees give way and her world fade to black.

* * *

"It's weird that Torin knew straight away the guy we were looking for does nobody else think its weird? I mean that was before i even singled out that piece of audio from the video where that asshole said his name." Jim squinted at the control panel to the shuttle as he thought out loud. Thinking back to the way Torins face changed as soon as they said Alex had been kidnapped, he looked mortified even for a Vulcan. Lyras. That was the name of the guy behind all of this but he couldn't part with much more information than that. Which had pissed Leonard off to no end.  _God damn it Bones._

* * *

" _He's always watching, i can't help you much more than giving you his name. And warning you, he is not stable, i believe he is behind the sabotage of my shuttle, for reasons which i cannot explain until he is in custody." Torin let out a controlled breath as he felt the man next to him rise out of his seat in anger._

" _Now why can't you tell us any more than that? I thought you were supposed to care about her god damn it some help you've been-" Leonard ranted throwing his hands in the air with sneer._

" _Of course i care for her, but the more information i part with the more i put my family at risk, you do not understand what he is capable of, you do not know why i had to leave!" Torins voice rose in volume as he rose from his seat, now on eye level with Doctor Mccoy as he squared up to the man the tips of their noses almost touching as Leonard ground his teeth together. He shouldn't be letting his emotions get the better of him but he really couldn't help it, he was sick of this shit, sick of all the secrets. "I left my Thyla to keep her safe, to keep them all safe. And years later he was still watching, and waiting."_

_Spock's eyes widened a fraction at the confession before he cleared his throat. "Torin you may return to your quarters, you will be informed when Doctor Reid is returned to the ship safety and Lyras is in custody." Spock spoke levely, watching Torins calm exterior immediately return as he backed down and took a step away from Leonard._

" _I apologise Doctor Mccoy for speaking out of term, i understand this situation is not ideal, i wish i could be of more help. Commander, Captain." Torin nodded at each man before he left the room as gracefully as he'd entered it._

* * *

"Its not weird it's just annoying as hell, knowing this is all connected somehow but not knowing exactly how. All we know is that Alex is half Vulcan and the name of her mother. And that this guy doesn't like that possibility, but it doesn't sound like he suspected anything before now. He really does sound psychotic. Like he's been keeping tabs on them by the sounds of it." Leonard mumbled strapping himself into the shuttle making sure all his equipment was next to him. He looked around them taking in the rather odd sight as they were all dressed in civilian clothes, he was slightly dumbfounded that Jim had convinced Spock to wear jeans rather than trousers along with a plain black shirt and leather jacket. Honestly they all looked like they were in some sort of gang with how similar their outfits were and if the situation wasn't as dire as it was Leonard probably would have laughed. "You sure you'll be able to get a lock on Nyotas location Spock?" Leonard asked wearily, for once he just wanted things to be simple.

"Positive, ready when you are Captain."

"What does Thyla mean?" Jim asked as he was flicked switches getting the shuttle's engines running, voice innocently curious as he looked over in spock's direction.

"It is a Vulcan term which can mean one of three things; friend, brother, or lover. It can also mean all three things at once, finding one's Thyla is a rare thing some even consider it a myth. It is similar to the concept of soul mates to humans." Spock felt eyes boring into him from two sides but refused to turn around.

"So he did love her then." Leonard muttered to himself sat in the back of the shuttle, no louder than a whisper but pointed ears perked up and heard the confused tone of the ships doctor. Spock couldn't help feel sympathy for Torin whilst simultaneously feeling that he deserved to lose his Thyla, laying a hand on one's Thyla was an unspeakable un imaginable thing. Though his aggression was due to a medical issue and not lack of emotional control, Spock could not fully judge the situation and forced his mind to stay neutral.

"i believe he did, and in a way still does, However it would be illogical for him to try and rekindle a relationship with Doctor Reid that is anything more than a friendship." Spock finished making sure the thrusters were engaged as he activated the inner lights of the craft. Jim hummed beside him shaking his head lightly.

"Love makes you do stupid things Spock."

Leonard shook his head. "I don't think he's that much of an asshole Jim, just a guy who knows he had something good and he lost it." He breathed out as the shuttle sprang to life slowly pulling away from the ships docking bay.

The atmosphere was tense as they entered space heading towards the grey and orange planet below. Not because of the recent conversation, but the heavy weight in all three mens chests that they may indeed be too late to stop the unhinged Vulcan below. Leonard was worried, he had a sick feeling in his gut the closer they got to the planet and was trying to stop himself from overthinking all of the information he'd recently taken onboard.  _She's half Vulcan then. That's how she could get the gist of what i was thinking. But she's… she's 28. Her dad lied to her and continued lying to her… i know it was meant to keep her safe but? How? Look where that's got us now. What was he keeping her safe from? judgement? She's ended up hiding something her entire life despite believing she was human anyway? Why not bring her up to be proud of what she is. I cant get involved, it's a family matter i don't want to go antagonising anything right now. But why do i have the feeling this is the least of our worries. I hope they're together down there, god knows what would happen if they were seperated, we'd probably be dealing with a massacre._

A loud beeping interrupted Leonards line of thought as he looked around frantically alongside Jim for what the hell was making the noise. "The hell is that?" Leonard half shouted in annoyance.  _Better not be this damn shuttle falling apart._

"Captain if you press the yellow button to your right side, yes that one, it's a call from the ship." Spock spared Jim a quick glance before turning his eyes back to the controls in front of him.

"Hello?" Jim tested warily.

"Captain, im sorry about this but he insisted i call you i got the shuttles contact information from Mr Sulu." Chapels voice filled the small craft, the three men looking at each other in confusion.

"Chapel? What's wrong." Leonard couldn't help but sound worried, it wasn't often his head nurse sounded so shook up.

"Leo-Dr Mccoy, it's Torin, he's- i can't explain it precisely Sir he's unsteady on his feet and he keeps telling me he needs to speak with you all, he's holding his head like he's in pain, but the readings on the scanners don't make any sense." Christine stumbled over her words as she spoke in a rush to get them out.

"Give him the comm Chris, he's gunna be fine." Leonards voice was steady, falling straight back into cmo mode at the sound of his distressed staff. There was static as the comm was passed over and then a grunt.

"Doctor Mccoy? You're running out of time. You need to tell your commanding officers they're running out of time.- ahh-" Torins voice was strained as if he was teetering on the edge of control, sounding like a man trying to hold himself together after breaking a bone.

"What's going on? I don't understand." Leonard spared a glance at Spock who seemed to look over at him with a certain realisation in his eyes before turning back to his consoles without saying a word.

"Doctor Reid- she is in a great deal of pain- I, i cannot confirm if it is emotional or physical but with who we are dealing with-" there was a pause while he drew in ragged breath.

"How do you know she's in pain man you're not making any sense!" Leonard shouted in mild frustration as the planet continued to get bigger in the ships display.

"Vulcans have the ability to mind meld among themselves and most other species-"

"You share a bond with Dr Reid?" Spock finally spoke, he thought it best to assist in Torins explanation if they were to get the information they needed from him before landing.

"I did, many years ago. I-I believe due to our distance and the fact Alex is infact half Vulcan, that the link didn't break as it should have- it has just lay dormant, until now." It was strange hearing a Vulcan sound so tired, voice pained and gruff as if he'd just endured a beating. Jim's face had went stern as had Leonards in hope that what he was telling them was wrong.

"This is the first time that you have noticed the link was still present?" Spock spoke sternly.

"Yes, i had experienced a persistent ache when boarding your ship, however until now i had simply put it down to lack of meditation whilst stranded in space. But now, the link is open, i cannot block it. S-so much anger." the line fell silent for a solid thirty seconds before nurse Chapel picked up the comm once again.

"He's- he's passed out." Chapel sounded beyond ruffled up and Leonard could understand why, these weren't normal circumstances. Leonard watched Spock go rapid fire with a number of the ships controls as he replied feeling the ship jolt as their speed picked up, he gave Spock a wary glance as he spoke.

" He'll be fine Chris, just keep an eye on him make sure he's comfortable, and warm enough. I know this isn't something we usually deal with, make sure to let his wife know whats going on aswell, just tell her everything you've just heard him tell me okay, and tell her the rest will be explained when we get back with the asshole that stranded their ship."

"Yes sir." The line went dead and Leonard and Jim immediately turned to Spock with a panicked look on their faces.

"Spock wanna tell me why were now speeding through the planet's atmosphere?" Jim laughed nervously as the heat rose in the cabin.

"We are running out of time, if Torin is indeed unconscious it is a indicator that Alex's mind is close to breaking point." Spock actually sounded on edge which sent a shudder up Jims spine in the worst way possible.

"What?!" Leonard half shouted, lunging forward in his seat unintentionally.

"Wait what? how does someone's mind break?" Jims voice cracked slightly as the ship juddered, a frown forming on his face as he looked to Spock for answers.

"It takes a lot to break a mind. Even a humans mind can take a metaphorical beating. But Vulcans, we experience emotion more deeply than any other race, which is why we use logic rather than rely on emotion-"

"Spock." Leonard warned.

"What i'm trying to say doctor, is that emotion has the ability to overpower a Vulcan should they lose their control. Alex has not been taught these controls, she has went through life as a human with the intensity of emotions that a Vulcan possesses, only being able to put in place small controls of her own. A telepathic link allows these emotions no matter how jumbled or powerful to travel between two people. I believe, that for a mind link to be opened in such a violent way, coupled with the fact that Torin has lost consciousness, Doctor Reid is experiencing emotional pain at heights she never has before. For the mind link to open itself so violently in the first place after laying dormant for years…"

"Its a call for help." Jim whispered. His mouth setting in a thin line as guilt filled him from all of his previous thoughts about her not being as important as Nyota, just because she hadn't been with them as long.  _Despite this being entirely centred around her and Torin from the start and you still decided she wasn't as important as Nyota. Pull your head out of your ass Jim and save your crew. Both of them._

"But what could cause that amount of pain, she's a doctor, she's seen death. And if she's strong enough to deal with that even with heightened emotions she's far stronger than half the people on this ship." Leonard pointed aggressively at the planet they were just about to land on, his teeth bared in anger and confusion as his undying urge to protect and heal was not being filled. "And what was that about anger, he said something about anger towards the end." Leonards face scrunched up in confusion, not knowing made him angry. He hated being kept in the dark, especially when people's lives were in danger.

"Anger and pain…" Spock speculated but he was at an impasse. "I concur that we do not know Doctor Reid as well as we thought we did. Though, i have a feeling that Nyota may know everything we don't… We may need her to tell us what occured if Alex is unresponsive."

"What do you mean unresponsive?!" Leonard whispered aggressively as they all tore off their seatbelts and shoved their phasers in their jackets.

"She will need time to heal Leonard, the mind is a complex thing. She may not verbally communicate until she is ready… possibly never again if we do not get there on time."

"Well let's go, spock get that radiation reading up its all we have to go on right now for any idea of where they are, that and a whore house but my gut tells me we need to follow that signal." Jim's face was set in a stern grimace as they exited the shuttle as casually as they could, parked up alongside other shuttles in what seemed to be a huge yard specifically for that use as buildings surrounded them. They walked between the shuttles quietly the gravel beneath their boots crunching gently as Jim craned his neck looking into every shuttle they walked past on their way to the town. He stopped dead making Leonard walk into his back with a thud.

"Will you watch where youre going man-"

"Shh, this is it. This is what brought em down here. Were in the right place." Jim glared inside the side window of the craft noting the familiar layout and the very obvious rope strewn across the floor near the back of the ship seemingly coming off two thick beams of the shuttles main frame. Taking a glance Spock sighed.

"I believe you are correct Jim."

"Alright then let's go." Leonard muttered. Trudging out of the shuttle park onto a side path to this strange city. The sun was dim in the sky as it sunk lower casting long shadows against the sandy roads, there was no grass to be seen, no hints of green anywhere as the three of them continued down the road slyly following Spock's scanner as they walked. Leonard couldn't help but hate the sandy red roads and lack of greenery because the one thing he craved most at the moment was to find evergreen eyes that he'd became obsessed with, the lack of green made him tense, the lack of such a prominent and beautiful colour made his gut churn, he needed to find her, he was starting to go insane. They continued for a while roaming the strange winding streets, ducking into alleyways as the sun set until Spock stopped dead in a rather busy area, full of women and men and clubs and… they were in the red light district.

"We're in the red light district." Leonard muttered before frowning down at Spock's device, watching how the blip on its screen was now huge and directly inline with their current coordinates somehow.

"They're below us. We're close. But where do we go from here?" Spock looked up and scoped the area. His head turning toward the crowded strip full of clubs and drunks. "Where would he take them?" Spock spoke mostly to himself as he analysed the surrounding area meticulously.

Jim and Leonard turned around each taking in the visuals and picking them apart in a second, trying to decipher if anything seemed off or slightly out of place. A guard their, a dark alley with an underlit door here. Watchful eyes over there. Leonard felt the hairs in his neck prick up as he turned slowly looking down the alleyway to their right more thoroughly, it was on the same side of the street as all the clubs but it wasn't directly connected to them instead stopping pretty short as a dead end alley with a small building at the end of it, low roof, it didnt look like much, especially under cover of dusk. The building was practically falling apart as the allet continued to fall into shadow. Jim followed Leonards gaze as they both clocked the rather heavy looking iron door leading into the rather old looking building, its roof practically decaying by the second as the metal had turned to pure rust. But that's what made it even more suspicious. That and the light shining ever brighter as the sun sunk in the sky from underneath the heavy door. Turning to each other they shared a look before signalling Spock to follow. It was just the ideal cover, especially being so close to a noisy part of town.

Jim turned on Spock as an idea popped into his head, as all three if them crept down the alley towards the ever looming iron door. "Hey Spock how long does it take for a Vulcan to wake up from being stunned by a phaser?" Jim questioned offhandedly keeping his voice low and innocent.

"Approximately 1 and a half minutes Captain-" Spock's eyes went wide for a second as he felt electricity jolt through his body, looking down to see Jim looking up at him apologetically with his phaser pointed directly at him just before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he dropped. Thankfully Jim was expecting it and Leonard was fast on the ball as he Jumped to the vulcans side quickly throwing Spock's arm over his shoulder and wrapping his arm around the man's waist before hoisting him up, swearing profusely as he did so.

"I swear Jim you better have a damn good plan, and next time a little warning would be nice." Leonard cussed, frowning as they dragged Spocks rather hefty frame towards the door, Leonard finally noticing what Jim had noticed a yard back. The symbol on the door. The caduceus symbol was slap bang in the middle of the door its two snakes wrapping around one another gracefully as wings sprouted from its top. Earth's most common symbol for medicine and doctors proudly spreading throughout the universe into the furthest reaches of space. Great plan Jim. Jesus fucking christ.

As they got to the door Jim proceeded to pound on it aggressively. "Open up, c'mon guys i know you're in there! my friends been spiked nd he's passed out there's gotta be something you can do, he's not responding to anything." Jims voice shook as a mask fell over his face, his eyes going wide and his lip wobbling in fake panic. The shutter on the iron door opened and they were greeted with suspicious brown eyes as a man inside eyed the two of them then looked down to the slumped head of their friend as it lolled about on his shoulders.

"Any idea what it was, see anything in his drink?" A gruff voice greeted them as he tried to assess what drug had been used.

"By the time we came back to the bar there was a crowd around him nd he was laid blubbering on the floor, like he was trying to speak but nothing would fit together, does that make any sense?" Leonard frowned trying to sound like he didn't have the foggiest what had happened, yanking Spocks body further up into his grip for extra effect. "I just wish he wasn't such a hefty bastard, i knew we shouldn't have asked him to come out tonight." Leonard frowned over Jim who rolled his eyes in response.

"You can't just not invite a guy out just because one time he was sick on your shirt, it could have happened to anyone!" Jim quipped back, taking note as the guy behind the door rolled his eyes as they heard bolts being pulled back scraping against metal loudly.

"Alright alright bring him in, docs downstairs to the left just make sure you knock before you go in. Poor bastard needs to watch his damn drink people don't go easy with that shit you know?" The guy shook his head in sympathy before he shuttered the door behind them amd Jim nodded his head in agreement before shooting the guy at point blank rage with his phaser watching him drop like a sack of bricks. Quickly un arming the guy and checking his pockets for anything that could help them as Spock started to come around frowning at Mccoy as he came out of his disorientated state.

"Hey don't look at me like that i didn't know anything about it either before it happened." Leonard defended himself quickly removing his arm from around the man's waist as Jim pulled the guys balaclava off just to check, yea good he's human.

"Lucky for us Spock humans stay out for a solid 20 minutes to half an hour after being stunned, sorry by the way i'll warn you next time."

"That would be greatly appreciated." Spock spoke with a raised brow clearly judging Jims course of action but also appreciating the mans quick thinking and charisma at getting them into the facility so quickly.

"Doctors to the left, so we go right." Jim spoke in a hushed tone as the three of them started down the stairs quietly. Leonard could feel every part of his body tingling as they got further and further down the stairs before he felt Spock tense behind him, coming to a complete standstill. Then he heard it. Screaming. Hoarse and desperate shouting. It was Nyota. As they rounded the corner they saw her down the corridor, right at the end there was two guards stood next to her as she hammered on a glass window screaming bloody murder, tears streaming down her face her voice cracking as she called out.

"Stop it, you've done enough! Can't you see you've done enough what more do you want! Please… please." Nyota slapped her hand against the glass one last time putting her head against it and sobbing. Something in Leonards gut twisted and Jim's gut was screaming at him as soon as he'd turned the corner and saw her there, as soon as he'd heard her strangled pleas he knew something awful was happening. A rage filled him along with the urge to protect before they all heard it. Nyota looking up fresh tears streaming out of her eyes as she looked at Alex from behind the glass, her petite frame caving slightly as her body shook, looking down at her feet she squeezed her eyes shut letting out a sobb.

Leonard stopped breathing. The words were heavy as the lyrics left quivering lips, voice shaking in between involuntary sobs as they raked through her body at the pain in her skull, as the song left her lips slowly, painfully falling from her lips like the blood from her head was falling to the ground.

_Almost heaven_

_West Virginia_

_Blue ridge mountains_

_Shenandoah river_

_Life is old there_

_older than the trees_

_Younger than the mountains_

_blowing like a breeze_

And that was when Leonard lost it completely. Pulling out his phaser he downed one of the guards, there was a steely look in his eyes as he watched the man fall to the ground, making Nyota jump as she turned, seeing the three of them heading towards her as the other guard turned to draw his own phaser.

_Country roads_

Nyota grabbed him by the wrist smacking his hand against the wall making him drop his phaser, raising his other hand, fist clenched as he swung it around. Nyota ducked just in time.

_take me home_

Another phaser shot from Leonard and the other guard was down. Nyota turned to him with red puffy eyes wrapping her arms around his neck in a bruising hug as he finally got to her knowing what he was about to see was going to hurt. And he was already hurting despite not knowing the half of it.

_To the place- I belong_

Leonard pulled Nyota close, hand raising to stroke her hair soothingly as he hugged her feeling her smaller frame shake as he looked up. He nearly choked. Glassy green eyes were staring hopelessly as the wall in front of her. _Alex_. Leonard felt something in him snap beyond repair.

_West Virginia_

There was blood everywhere. All over the floor, long clumps of red hair strewn over the white floor covered by an even coating of crimson. As some thing carved into the side of her freshly shaved head with a scalpel. He choked then, a sob coming from deep in his throat, he was overwhelmed. She didn't look like she was even there anymore, she was staring at nothing, she looked vacant, eyes streaming and red.

_Mountain mamma_

He joined Spock in kicking down the door, time slowing an ungodly amount as Lyras turned in his seat looking unphased, the smallest semblance of surprise crossed his face as he stood up from his seat. Before immediately being stunned by Jim. Leonard turned to his best friend. Jim looked mortified, he just stood staring at the lax form of the Vulcan on the floor, eyes damp with frustration, disbelief, and horror at what he'd done.

_take me home_

At some point after Nyota had ran in going to Alexs side instantly and at the 4th call of his name from Spock he eventually zoned back in.

"Leonard, we need to stop the bleeding, the cuts aren't deep but they will scar." Spock spoke with an unusual amount of pain in his voice as he joined Nyota at Alex's side propping the red haired woman up against his chest and holding her firmly against him, his eyes burning at the words carved into her skull, her singing continuing as if they weren't there. As if she wasn't being rescued, as if there was still no hope.

_Country roads..._

Leonard sprung into action as Jim secured the Vulcan on the floor, calling scotty to beam the six of them back onto the ship as Leonard pressed a clean towel against her head, the lump in his throat getting stuck as she didnt even wince at what should have been something extremely painful. Spock lifted her into his arms like she weighed nothing her hand instinctively coming up to rest against his chest. Eyes still vacant, it was like her mind wasn't with them but her body was registering she wasn't in pain anymore, that she was safe again. A hand came up to brush his face ever so tenderly, cautious and unsure, expression still unchanging as if her eyes didn't recognise or even see the familiar face.

Spock winced at the contact but he didn't pull away as he felt the intensity of the doctors emotional trauma slam into him like a tsunami. He would help her to the best of his ability when they returned to the ship. He felt a closeness to the doctor he hadn't felt before, they were one in the same after all, both caught between species, both judged. But he'd never dealt with anything to this extent before, maybe it was because she was more human than him, he did not know. But he did know the feeling that was building in his chest. It was rage. It was pain, he must protect. He would teach her all he knew.

"Spock?" her voice was small, as skittish as a mouse and something in Leonard chest pulled tight. _She's never sounded like that- that's not Alex. What has he done to her, what has he done to her-_

"I am here, We are here." Spock soothed, looking at Leonard expectantly and nodding at Nyota. Nyota placed a hand gently against Alex's arm squeezing lightly. Leonard tried to swallow but couldn't, the hand that wasn't holding the towel to her head coming up to stroke her cheek. Her eyes shifting slightly as each person made contact, their minds mildly grazing hers as they touched her bare skin.

"I'm not going anywhere." she whispered staring off somewhere between Leonard and Nyota, her eyes shifting but not seeing. But Leonard knew that was meant for him and he frowned, closing his eyes to will the tears back as he felt his eyes watering, he managed it. Just.

"We should avoid further physical contact with her unless necessary, her mind is in chaos, she is lost in grief. Over exposure to anyone brushing up against her mind may be enough to tip her over the edge, and we will not be the ones to break our doctors mind." Spock spoke with authority and Leonard and Nyota immediately removed their hands.

"How do you know she's grieving?" Leonard muttered eyes worried and wide as he looked up to spock with his furrowed brows as a single tear streamed from his eyes. Leonard felt a pang of hurt that he couldn't be there for her in the way that Spock or any other Vulcan could at this time, but he grounded himself on the fact he was going to be the one patching her up. He was going to look after her till she was herself again.

"I can feel it." Jim looked up at that, the crack in Spock's usual perfect mask was harrowing. He could see his first officers rage pushed back in the depths of his brown eyes along with the pain he was currently sharing with Alex as he held her firm, the transporter finally taking hold of their atoms as yellow light swirled around them. He snarled down at the Vulcan in cuffs on the ground next to him, pointing his phaser at his head, his hands shaking as he set the phaser to kill. He wanted to. But he couldn't. Changing it back to stun he looked down at the enemy with defeat. This didn't feel like a victory. Not at all.

* * *

Please review. Hope you liked this chapter took me a while to finally sort out but here it is i hope it reads well for you all. X


	19. Ulef Khaf

Im sorry this has took so long its quite a long chapter so ive split it into two parts while i finish off the second half. Enjoy! Warning for Spock showing emotions and his more human side being on show.

* * *

Everything was hazy when they got back, Leonard almost felt like he was in some type of lucid dream as he saw Scotties face drop from across the room, the rest of the ensigns at their stations following suit as they looked up from behind their consoles, all baring looks of horror and concern, hands over mouths in shock. Everything happening all at once and not at all as Jim resisted the urge to kick the Vulcan on the ground and instead told him to get up through gritted teeth. Looking up from his spot at Spock's side his hand gently squeezing Alex's arm his eyes met Jims, blue eyes were sharp as there gaze met before softening, Jim gave Leonard a nod and they both knew what they needed to do now they were back. Jims look alone telling Leonard to  _ go. Look after her. _

 

His feet started moving as his mind went into overdrive, Spock and Nyota hot on his heels as he stormed his way to med bay, shouting down his comm listing off to his staff all the things he was going to need setting up before they got there. Snapping out of auto pilot for a second when Nyota squeezed his bicep, looking over to see the sad smile he didn't know how to respond, he didn't speak, his mind just stopped.  _ I can't do this right now, i can't stop to process anything. I need to stay on task. I need to clean up all these cuts.  _

 

“Are you hurt?” His voice was gruff as he spoke but he ignored it, clearing his throat after the words left his lips looking pointedly at Nyota waiting for the small shake of her head that soon followed.

 

“No, im fine. Leonard, he injected her with something, i-i don't know what it was but it made it impossible for her to fight back, her arms and legs looked like they were weighing her down. Her movements were so overly lethargic I-.” 

 

“I'll check for a relaxant in her system but its not usually the type of thing that lasts too long so it should be out of her system pretty soon either way.” However he wanted that to sound was the exact opposite of what he ended up sounding like and Nyota frowned at him and his flat tone.

 

“You know if you just bottle it all up you'll soon explode.” she said in a motherly tone and it made Leonard smile weakly. Nyota always had that scolding mother tone about her, the type of tone you'd hear if your grandma found out you haven't eaten all day and the “youll waste away you know” that always followed before they fed you till you were full to bursting. It brought a bit of warmth to him, knowing they were still keeping it co workers but that she would be there if he did fall apart because she was also his friend.

 

“If i don't bottle it up for a while longer i'll be no help to anyone. I'll be fine, you should get some rest after i've had chapel check you out.” He gave her his best doctors orders voice trying to get a smile of some sorts out of her.

 

“I'm not leaving her.” Nyota stated, Leonard raised a brow at her tone, noting it was said as a fact rather than an opinion.

 

“Well you'll be sleeping in the med bay tonight.” He muttered.

 

“Fine by me.”

 

His attention snapped to Alex as she started wincing in Spock's arms, her eyes shut tight as her hand came up to her temple in a attempt to rub soothing circles.

 

“You can't just bust back in here after all these years… who let you in…” she mumbled eyes opening again in their constant unfocused daze as they finally approached the med bays doors.

 

“Torin.” Leonard stated,  _ at least i hope its him and shes not losing her mind.  _ He didn't completely understand all this mind stuff but there'd be time to ask about it all later, when the cuts in her head were cleaned and closed and her mind wasn't in the state that Spock said it was.

 

“It is unwise of him to be trying to communicate with her this way, it will be causing him pain.”

 

“He's worried Spock. How would you feel if it was me in Alex's position?” Spock gave her a glance as the medbay doors opened before responding.

 

“Point made.” Spock stated. Leonard couldn't help the small chuckle that left him, even with all the shit that was happening and the anxiety rushing around his veins Spock being corrected on something still managed to get a rise from him.  _ Green blooded softy. _

 

As they came through the med bay doors his professional mask came into place almost immediately, he was shouting orders to 5 different nurses at a time as Spock placed the usually lively red haired doctor down on the biobed that he'd had Christine prep for her, drawing the curtain half way around the bed instinctively as if it was some kind of barrier that would stop some of the ruckus getting to Alex's ears and giving her headache on top of all the other things she had going on. 

 

“Wow, did i just hear Leonard McCoy shouting orders for the first time, asserting himself as cmo? I should get injured more often.” Leonard sucked in a breath as Alex spoke her eyes focusing in on Leonard before she faded out again, Leonard felt the mask he was wearing breaking as he finally understood what Spock had meant. She was here but she was lost. She'd been back for a split second before they'd lost her again. The vacant expression in her eyes had vanished just as quickly as it had came back. Leonard pinched the bridge of his nose as he sat down on the bed next to her forcing the feelings right back down where he had to hold them until the med bay cleared.

 

“Please don't go out of your way to injure yourself, I'd rather you stayed in one piece.” His voice was soft as he looked down at glassy green eyes, stroking a thumb over a freckled cheek before getting hold of himself again, whipping his hand away and looking up at Spock as if he'd been stung. Spock looked back with a level of understanding in his eyes that unnerved him, no judgement of his lack of emotional control present at all. “Sorry.”

 

“You do not need to apologise to me Leonard, physical contact intended to comfort is one of the most pure instincts i have had the honour of witnessing amongst humans, i would never look down on anyone for this, least of all you.”

 

For the first time in all his time knowing Spock this had to be the first time the man had made him speechless. He had no idea how to respond so instead got to work cleaning Alex's head and disinfecting the cuts on her scalp. Making sure to check her neck and face for any other injuries, making sure her windpipe hadn't been crushed or deformed during the the horrendous strangling he'd witnessed.  _ That bastard is lucky we never bumped into him or id- _

 

“Alex? What-” Torin stumbled over standing between Leonard and Spock as he watched water run down the side of Alex's head filling up the cuts with shallow pools of pink as the blood was slowly washed away. Spock could see the rage filling the Vulcan as he stood rigid and noticed Alex squirming in her bed.

 

“Torin remain calm, your anger is only going to cause her more pain.” Spock put a hand up to stop him from stepping too close while the wound was being cleaned out. Spock knew he would not hurt her but he still felt apprehension towards him and his current state of being especially since his controls seemed to be lacking since the link had opened. It was no doubt taking its toll of Torin due to how abrupt and violent its reopening was.

 

“He did this.” It was a statement rather than a question as Torin teetered on the edge of control, Leonard could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing to attention and saw Spock shifting forward slightly in his seat as an uneasy tension continued to build. Alex squirmed more on the bed before Torin let out a breath, letting the tension and anger slip away leaving through his fingertips as he opened his palms splaying his fingers, Alex stilled then eyes closing as if she was at some kind of peace. “Let me help her? If i enter into a mind meld with her i may be able to help ease the pain, help her find her way back so to speak.” 

 

Leonard looked to spock with scepticism that was returned. Spock eyed the Vulcan closely for a minute turning his face to Alex and pausing.  _ I must not put her at risk, you need to be absolutely sure of this if you are to let him assist her. And if he cannot then i will volunteer, though it may take days for her mind to be strong enough for an entirely new mind to successfully meld with her. _

 

“You must promise to have a healer break your link with her, though i do not know what she would say to your request, i believe the link was opened accidently, It appears Alex was seeking help which is why it was opened so violently and caused you physical pain, she had no control over this.” Spock contemplated his offer after telling him his own theory on why there link was now reopened. Turning momentarily to look over at Nyota who was looking across at them heart aching at what Torin would soon know.

 

“I cannot tell you what she would say as i cannot hear her clearly but i know… there is something she needs to tell me… though she worries for peoples safety at my reaction. I do not understand-” 

 

“Then maybe it's best we hear it first so we can get a sense of what your reaction could be. I know this could be deeply personal but-” 

 

Torin could Leonard off with a nod. “You are right, she feels that would be for the best under the circumstances. But how can-”

 

“I know what it is she needs to tell you.” Nyota spoke from the edge of her bio bed. “You don't want to hear this from me so id leave the med bay for a couple of minutes, come back and ask a nurse where we are when you get back in.” Nyota looked up through sad eyes at the clueless but clearly anxious Vulcan infront of her, his grey eyes conveying thousands of emotions, the mind link knocking down whatever walls had had in place to keep them in check.

 

“If you think it is best.” He spoke aloud, though Nyota wasn't sure if it was meant for her or for Alex. The way she was awake but unseeing was making her want to cry, her eyes looked barron.

 

Drawing the curtain entirely around the bed she sighed, sitting down tentatively beside Leonard. She didn't know how to start, how to say it.  _ Is it something you ease into or something you say all at once, this is one if those situations... Where no matter how good i am with languages it's never going to be easy to break the news. _

 

“I think we should move them to a secure room that has the ability to transport Torin on a moments notice, possibly to the brig. But not in the same cell as Lyras unless you want a dead Vulcan before a trial.”

 

Dread filled Leonards stomach hearing this and this wasn't even the news.  _ What the hell could it possibly be? _

 

_ There are numerous possibilities that could trigger such a violent reaction in a Vulcan, the loss of our home world being one- _

 

“She was pregnant, Lyras H-he found out. He poisoned her, she-. She'd thought it was just one of those things that happened for all these years, but… he took the choice away from her. He made it for her. He killed that baby before it even had a chance, before she'd even decided herself.”

 

Leonard felt his heart rip in two as soon as the first sentence left Nyotas mouth. He couldn't imagine it- he just knew if Jo was taken away from him  _ permanently _ he'd be unconsolable. He knew it wasn't the same but by god he had nightmares about that.  _ Christ no wonder Alex is in pain, having a miscarriage is painful enough but to find out it wasnt that at all? To find out someone killed the thing growing inside of you-the fetus before it even had a chance to become a child… before she'd even made up her mind if she was ready to be a mother or not. That kid could have been what 3 or 4 round about now… what kind of monster- _

 

“Leonard. Perhaps this is why Torin had to leave he could not tell us before while Lyras was still free but-”

 

“Yea, Lyras threatened Torins family and Alex as soon as he found out that Torin was considering leaving his, well now his  _ wife _ for Alex. They weren't married back then, just paired up from a young age for… biological reasons. The reason his ship was attacked, he turned up at Yorktown to make peace with her thinking after all these years Lyras wouldn't be paying attention. But he was…” Nyota cut Spock off brushing a thumb over Alex's hand as she looked down at her friend. “Neither of them deserved this, least of all her.” Nyota snapped pulling her hand away to look over at leonard with grief.

 

“Nobody deserves this.” Leonard soothed, wrapping his arms around Nyotas smaller frame as she sunk into his chest with a soft sob. 

 

“I think Nyotas’ suggestion seems the wisest giving the information we've just been told. However we should monitor them while the mind meld is taking place, the captain should also be informed of this information and our plan, Nyota if you would be so kind as to track him down and tell him?” Spocks voice was low and smooth as Nyota looked up from Leonards embrace into those oh so human brown eyes, giving him a small nod she scurried away, leaving them in a heavy silence. Spock sighed, standing up slowly from his seat and looking down at the redhead who was seemingly staring straight past him.

 

“Whats on your mind Spock, i haven't seen you this tense over another crew member before unless its Jim or Nyota.” Leonard sounded somewhat defensive in his tone but Spock knew it was just worry making the doctor suspicious of almost everyone's intentions with Dr Reid.

 

“I find myself conflicted, i do not see myself as close to Dr Reid as you or Lieutenant Uhura, however… I wish to help her. I do not wish to see her go through what i have been through alone and especially without being taught certain aids such as meditation.”

 

“She's not going to be alone Spock she's got me, she's got all of us. As Long as you aren't gunna try turn her into a entirely logical being then-”

 

“Do not worry Leonard, i do not wish to change who she is, i simply want to teach her how to deal with certain aspects of her Vulcan biology rather than see her struggle. Meditation would be a solid starting point in helping her deal with her heightened emotions. I will not let her go through this journey alone, as a half human myself i do not wish to witness others like me suffer ridicule from society alone.” Spock finished his fists clenching a little too tightly behind his back before they relaxed. 

 

And that was when Leonard realised something. Watching Spock as he looked down at the steady rise and fall of her chest beneath the thin sheets, watching his knuckles turn white for a split second behind his back as he glanced at the Vulcan markings carved into her scalp. To Spock this wasn't just a friend being mutilated.  _ This is personal to him. Someone just like him has been mutilated for simply existing as a mixture of two races. Her life course altered by someone who thought themselves superior, someone trying to play god. Something tells me Spock's gunna turn into an older brother when it comes to her… it's an oddly sweet thing considering he's got a pole up his ass a lot of the time, then again i suppose if i was in his shoes I'd be protective of her as well. I mean he's not starting any mind training until she's fully recovered thats for sure, he'll wait however long it damn well takes. _

 

“I think she'd appreciate that Spock. But no mind training till she's fully recovered, you got it?” Leonard pointed a finger at him accusingly chuckling when the hobgoblin raised a brow at him before his face dropped again, staring at the cursive swirls carved into her skin. He knew he wouldn't like what it said but he had to know. “What does it say?” He breathed out the words, barely a whisper but reaching his friends pointed ears all the same.

 

Spock looked at Leonard before looking at the ground with defeat on his features. “ _ Ulef Khaf.  _ Half blood.”

 

Leonard sighed at this, feeling not anger or rage bubbling up but a sinking feeling in his chest, the human race had came so far with equality in things such as sexuality and race that it was rare to come across a racist or homophobe nowadays. But Vulcans, or some vulcans… it seems like they had a long way to come with being accepting. Different species had been mating with each other for centuries now and were rarely met with stigma, but Vulcans and humans. It was something the entire human race didn't seem to have a problem with, but the entirety of the Vulcan race frowned upon, but why? Why should a species limit itself if they are compatible with another species? Didn't Vulcans need to raise there numbers after their planet was destroyed? He didn't see the problem. “Course he put a label on her, as if being half of either race makes her less of a person.” Leonard frowned forcing himself to move, gathering the curtains and pulling them back as he prepped the bed to be moved into a private room.

 

“I believe the label will not phase her when she comes round, after all, what is the shame in simply existing as one was made?” Spock spoke quietly as he stepped to the other end of the bed helping Leonard move it through the med bay un interrupted. Leonard hadn't been made speechless by Spock so much in his life. He really hoped it didn't become a regular thing for spock to continue saying such profound things. He already respected the man  _ god damn it _ he couldn't respect him any harder than he already did but somehow that's exactly what was happening. Then everything was happening so suddenly again as Torin was in the room with her before they knew it as they monitored from security cameras closely ready to beam the Vulcan away at a moments notice. Neither Spock or Leonard knew what was going on but Leonard felt almost out of place watching as soon as Torins fingertips found their place on the side of her head. He shifted uncomfortably at the desk, almost feeling guilty that the image coming through was so clear and not grainy as he watched Alex's eyes open looking up at Torin with tears in her eyes searching for something he didn't understand.

 

“I'm so sorry.” She whispered, voice hoarse as she lifted her hand to cup the one resting against her head. “You don't have to do this-”

 

“Do not apologize for something that wasn't your fault.” Torins voice broke as he spoke, making Leonard look away.  _ We really shouldn't be watching this, this is private.  _ He could see tears streaming out of the mans eyes as he finally lost grip on the tethers of his controls, brow creasing and his head bowing as an muffled sob sounded. “I am the one that should be apologising, this is my fault-”

 

“Shut up. You're in my head right now so you know damn well i don't blame you for this. This isn't on you or me.” there was no real bite to her words as she said them but she was looking at him with sincerity, their pain was mutual on the matter but they both knew nothing could be done to change the past.

 

“You misunderstand  _ ashayam,  _ i do not just mean the circumstances that have came to light but your kidnapping in general. I came to apologise and make right by the things that I'd done, i came to tell you everything. And you were not in yorktown. But he knew. He came for me and then he came for you. I came to apologise after years to rid myself of guilt selfishly...and this is where it has lead us.” His voice was hoarse as he spoke his words heavy with such foreign emotion that it was chilling to bare witness to. Spock visibly clenched beside Leonard at the display.

 

“Torin, it's all over now. You've explained everything better than you ever could with words through this.” Alex tapped at her head. “You have nothing to be sorry for not anymore, but you need to do me one big favour, you need to go meditate with your family. They're worried.”

 

The corner of Torins mouth raised slightly though the mood was still sombre. “Vulcans do not experience worry or anxiety.”

 

“Says the worried and anxious Vulcan in my head.”  _ C'mon sweety let's wrap this up you've helped me come back from a dark place, i didn't know if i was gunna make it back on my own, i can't thank you enough. But you need to meditate this link isn't healthy for you. _

 

“Shut up.” Torin muttered, a burst of laughter came from Alex at his little outburst along with a short lived grin.  _ Always the doctor looking out for others before herself, but i will heed your advice Alex. We will need to get the link removed by a healer on new vulcan, i…  _ Torin removed his hand from her face as his eyes re focused. “I do hope we can remain friend's Alex, i am also glad to see you have moved on. Do not look at me like that i-”

 

“Pervert.” Alex muttered, relishing the few moments of bantering and normalcy before the sadness sunk in again. She wanted to be strong but she knew it was going to be a long haul back to where she had been.

 

“Your mind was in shambles if it is anyone's fault i saw the things i did then it is yours. The doctor will metaphorically speaking, have his hands full.” Torin rolled his eyes sarcastically before offering one of those exceedingly rare Vulcan half smiles, “But he is also very lucky.” Torin paused before looking at the door then back towards Alex on the bed holding out his arm for her to link her own through. “i can hear you mocking me in a childish tone we are still in physical contact and your thoughts have Always been extremely loud.” 

 

“Sorry… if you need anything before we get to new vulcan just shout me, not literally but yea- you know what i mean.” Alex breathed out a sigh as they headed for the door arm in arm. “It's gunna take more than just ourselves to get us through this.”

 

“And i will be here, as will all of you friends no doubt. And the doctor. He's not going to punch me when we walk through this door is he?” Torin questioned seriously causing Alex to look up at him completely perplexed for a second before laughing.

 

“No. Why would he punch you?”

 

“Human males seem to act out when another male is in close proximity of their mate, as a display of dominance.- do not even finish that thought, i do not want the mental image.”

 

“He's definitely not gunna punch you, hes a doctor. And sorry you know my mind wanders i can't help it.” Alex apologised sheepishly turning slightly pink in the cheeks. Leonard couldn't describe the amount of relief he had seeing her back in her body being able to converse with others again. The hint of jealousy at the level of comfort Torin was able to give her was overruled by his own relief as a doctor and his own sense of logic. It would have been Alexs and Torins child, so it made sense that he would need to know and she would be most comforted by him in that respect. But everything else, Leonard was the man for that. Everything else he'd be there for her to help her with and he'd never let her down.  _ Atleast she's not lost in her own mind anymore, the amount of emotional relief that must have gave her for her to be up and moving on her own accord is un thinkable, how do minds work? was she lost and he had to find her? Call her back from where she was wandering aimlessly? Either way it's helped massively, but the pain is still there. Obviously. It's still there in her eyes, just a minute or two of normalcy until the weight of reality rears its ugly head again. Crying on and off for days probably, but thats grief, you hold her through it all, she'll get through this. _

 

“Your patient, doctor. ” Torin relaxed his arm forcing Alex to unlink her arm as she scooted over till she was pressed gently against Leonards side, one arm gently grazing at his back as if she didn't quite know what to do with herself or how to ask for affection and comfort. A vulnerability she very rarely showed and something Leonard picked up on instantly as he plucked her hand from his back holding it in his own gently, rubbing his thumb over her knuckle reassuringly as their fingers intertwined.

 

“Thankyou.” Leonard didn't know what to say to the man other than that, there wasn't enough words in the universe to describe his gratitude. Alex could have permanently became lost in her own mind, she might have had to have been hooked up too a life support machine and fed through tubes if it wasn't for him. Apparently his eyes did the talking for him as Torins greys met his browns and his lip curved upward slightly before he gave a curt nod, turning he headed out of the med bay without another word. In walked Jim then looking frustrated but calming down when he saw Torin walking out looking slightly more peaceful than he usually was, turning he saw the three of them all stood to the side in the back of the med bay and he smiled cautiously, slightly worried and feeling guilty in himself still.

  
“You have the next two days off duty and you let me know when you're ready to head back to work there's no rush alright?” Jim rushed out as he approached them, gesturing to Leonard before turning his attention to Alex who he noticed had herself firmly tucked to Leonards side and one of his arms tucked behind them undoubtedly holding her hand. “I'm glad to see you up and about again... “ Jim paused, his feelings of relief anger and confusion all turning into a cocktail in his mind before he sighed and tugged her in for a hug. Feeling her tense up before she relaxed giving him a squeeze he felt her smile into the crook of his shoulder. “You're a tough bitch i hope you know that, don't go getting kidnapped, like ever again or I'll have to court martial you.” Jim chuckled as he let her go nodding towards Bones as a small smile spread across the redheads face.  _ God this is so strange, i feel guilty for feeling more about Nyota being kidnapped but now they're back. Now Alex isn't a mumbling mess, i- jesus this smart ass sass monster has made me have feelings. She's made herself one of us, she's part of the group. I'm requesting shore leave as soon as possible after all this. We need to get to know her properly, i want to get to know her properly. Damn it Spock stop looking at me like im soft.  _ “Alright go on you two, no more stress, go!” He waved them off with a sigh, turning to Spock who was wearing his half smile that made Jim roll his eyes at the Vulcan as they walked out of the medbay together.


	20. Normalcy

I know this took way too long im so sorry.

* * *

 

“I understand. She has came to be a major part in our lives in a very short space of time.” Spock spoke quietly as they both entered the turbo lift.

 

“How did it go with Torin? Are they okay they in speaking terms now?” Jim questioned not caring if it was personal he had to know that his friend was safe from anymore stress. That his crew was safe from an emotional Vulcan.

 

“I believe they have spoke and are now on amiable terms, Torin handled the news well for someone whos emotional barriers had been metaphorically battered. Though they will be getting the mind link removed when we arrive on new Vulcan. They can communicate far to clearly when in physical contact with each other for a pair that have been parted for years, it will be putting a strain on Torins mind though im in doubt he will admit to this.” Spock reeled off the facts and his deductions smoothly watching the rest of the tension leave his captains shoulders. “Are you well Captain?”

 

“Yea yea im fine im just. I'm pissed off and i'm tired and i-” Jim sighed shaking his head with a defeated look on his face. “I just don't understand why this needed to happen. Those scars… what do they say?”  Jim looked up at Spock in pained curiosity. 

 

Spock looked over at the curious blue eyes before turning his gaze to the ground. “  _ Ulef Khaf.  _ In Vulcan directly translates to ‘Half Blood.’”

  
  


“That bastard.” Jim spat, frown returning with vengeance and all the tension that had faded returned to his body as his hands clenched into fists.  _ One step forward two steps back. _

 

“She's going to be fine Jim.”

 

“Yea yea i know. I just feel awful about the entire thing.”

 

“Jim i don't understand none of this is your doing, why are you feeling this way?”

 

“Because at first i was more concerned that Nyota had been taken, she's our friend she's been with us for years so when Bones burst onto the bridge and said Dr Reid was gone i didn't care as much. I still cared obviously- forget it. Everyone's safe we can all sleep easy tonight.” Jim cut the conversation off in frustration.  _ I don't know why im trying to explain this to Spock of all people. Stupid like he's gunna have anything helpful or remotely human to say about it. _

 

“Then go and see her? We have all shard a sleeping bag i do not think it would be seen as intrusive if you want to be a support. Though you should not feel guilty Jim, that emotion makes sense especially since you were not as close to Dr Reid as you are with Lieutenant Uhura. I think Leonard would say ‘you should not beat yourself up over it.’” Spock finished leaving Jim utterly bewildered and speechless.

 

“Well I'll be damned Spock, i'll be honest i wasn't expecting you to come out with anything along those lines. And go see her she's probably asleep by now with Bones sat in the corner refusing to go to sleep.”

 

“Perhaps. Though i do know that Nyota will be there right now despite any intentions Leonard has to make her rest.” 

 

“Really?” Jim re evaluated the idea for a second before pulling out his comm and messaging Nyota.

  
  


**You over at Leonards room with A?**

**-JTK**

 

**########**

 

**Yea, you and Spock should head over (ps i dont think its just Alex that needs friends around her) x**

**-NU**

 

**#########**

 

“Alright spock we're headed over to Bones quarters, let's go.” Spock raised a questioning brow but didn't say anything and just followed silently. He remembered to announce his ptesence this time instead of just coming booling through the door, not that he really needed to be cautious about bursting in on anything given the circumstances. The doors swished open to reveal Bones, Alex and Nyota sprawled out over the floor in a haphazard manner. Nyota and Leonard were sat on the floor infront of the sofa, the coffee table had been pushed back against the wall and Alex was between the two laid with her head on Nyotas lap and her legs sprawled out over Leonards lap as they all looked up to the door.

 

“We're having a sleepover? Sweet. Nyota pass me that pillow.” Nyota smiled grabbing the small blue pillow from the sofa and tossing it to Jim as he got himself comfy leaning the pillow up against Bones’ crossed legs.

 

“Guess I'm part of the furniture now.” Leonard chuckled, watching as Spock awkwardly took a seat across from him on the floor making it a full circle.

 

“I want a drink who wants a drink? Would it be frowned upon if i took this day of my two days off to drink captain?” Alex lifted her head out of Nyotas lap with such speed she made Nyota jump. 

 

“Now that's the smartest idea anyones had all day, I'll take one.” Jim said smile stretching across his face as the red head jumped to her feet. It may have not been the healthiest coping mechanism and he knew Bones was wary from the way the man beneath his pillow tensed up at the suggestion. “Whiskey?”

 

“Already on it.” Alex spoke from the kitchenette as Leonard frowned down and Jim for being an enabler despite it being his whiskey, while Jim mouthed ‘she'll be fine’ at him with a frown. “Nyotaaaa i have wine. Spock can i interest you in a hot chocolate?”

 

Spock raised a brow at the hopeful tone and turned to face the red head looking over her shoulder at him clad in one of Leonard's oversized shirts and a pair of flimsy checkered shorts, her bare feet silent as they moved around the kitchenette. “I feel as though there are ulterior motives at play here, may i ask why you wish to get me drunk, Doctor?”

 

“Becauseeee. Everyone's so tense we need to loosen up a little, youre giving me tense vibes sat there with your perfect posture, it's time to loosen up Spock, Doctors orders.” Alex spoke bringing everyone something to drink and quickly returning to the kitchenette to get Spocks hot chocolate. “You don't have to drink it all, just sip, you'll figure out your limits it'll be fine i promise.” Alex spoke as she set down the mug carefully in front of Spock.

 

“Mmmm that does smell better than what I'm drinking Spock im slightly jealous.” Jim inhaled deeply leaning towards Spock's mug before letting out a satisfied sigh.

 

“Indeed, the smell is quite satisfying.” Spock closed his eyes momentarily to take the sweet scent in.

 

“I never thought I'd see the day were we get to see Spock drunk.” Leonard mumbled into his cup before Alex kicked him lightly mouthing ‘rude' to him jokingly.

 

“I'm fine with seeing Spock drunk as long as a certain somebody doesn't make me spit out my wine again.” Nyota glared down at Alex with laughter in her eyes as the woman's head returned to her lap before she started giggling.

 

“I couldn't resist you were so un assuming i had to say something.” Alex giggled.

 

“What did you say?” Leonard asked smirking curiously at the pair, raising a suspicious brow when they looked towards each other and started laughing. Leonard raised both brows at that, looking towards Jim confused before he put his glass to his mouth as Alex sat up, hand on his shoulder as she mouthed something into his ear before Leonard spat his drink back into his cup, though everyone's attention turned to Spock as he inhaled some of his hot chocolate clearly overhearing what had been said as he choked. And then even without anyone realising they fell back into normalcy, even if it was just for tonight. They were all laughing as Spock winced from choking looking up at them with a betrayed frown.

 

“That is information i did not want or need to know.” Spock spoke sullenly. Confused when Alex started laughing harder at him.

 

“Spock you've got a- Hot chocolate mustache i can't take you seriously.” Alex wheezed, Jim started giggling as he looked over at Spock putting his drink on the ground as he leaned back into his pillow with his hand over his mouth. “When did you all grow your hair out anyway and why isn't this a regular thing you all look great. I'm jealous i can't grow a beard.” Alex spoke as she leaned up scratching underneath Leonard's and Jim's chins in unison earning her a hum from the pair as if they were dogs being pet.

 

“We're trying out a new look, there's a theory that facial hair makes men more attractive.” Jim chimed as Nyota rolled her eyes.

 

“You think that'd work for scotty?” Leonard chided earning him a jab in the side from Alex as Jim cackled Leonard smirking sarcastically at the red head as Nyota raised a suspicious brow down at the red head.

 

“What haven't you told me.”

 

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing that needs talking about.” Alex looked anywhere but up at Nyota guiltily.

 

“She totally almost slept with Scotty before we recruited her into our space family.” Jim chipped in earning him a foot to the side of the head making him slide off the pillow he was resting on “heyyyy!”

 

“Oh my god really! Why didn't you tell me.” Nyota gasped.

 

“Because i totally didn't find out till recently and its embarrassing! I didn't even know until these two both interrogated him.”

 

“Scotties totally datong Jaylah aswelli forgot to tell you.” Jim stated matter of factly tipping his glass in Nyotas direction before standing up to refill his glass and any other empty ones.

 

“I knew that its been going on since what... a month before we left yorktown. It was so obvious. Scotty has a thing for bossy women.” Nyota stated as Leonard raised his brows.

 

“oh it makes so much more sense now.” Leonard chuckled. Eyes sparkling with mischief as Alex gasped in offence.

 

“You can't talk you're dating me… i'm not even that bossy, you're the bossy one.” she stuck her tongue out at him, before sighing happily as she leaned back down resting her head on Nyotas thigh as she looked over at Spock checking up that the Vulcan as still alive and well. “What do you guys miss about home? Like earth and Vulcan. Living in yorktown for so long really made me miss the little things, like snow you know? Waking up on a winter morning and the snow outside has made a blanket over your entire street and the flakes are still coming down. It's a different kind of beauty to space i guess.” Alex stared up at the ceiling longingly as if wanting the ceiling to open up and delicate snowflakes to start falling around them.

 

“I miss the moon, it sounds stupid i know but, just being able to lie in the grass in a field and look up at the night sky, all the stars and the moon so far away but so easily reachable. I don't know... just always felt calm when looking up at the night sky, like the feeling of being firmly grounded with crickets creaking nearby but always wanting to be amongst the stars.” Jim sighed before suddenly feeling self conscious in the quiet of the room, he shuffled uncomfortably in silence for a second before Alex chipped in. 

 

“I get that, you ever seen a blood moon? They're gorgeous.” Jim nodded towards Alex in agreement glad that she'd swooped in and saved him from his own anxiety.

 

“What about you Spock?” Leonard nodded towards the Vulcan who pushed his hot chocolate away from him before answering.

 

“It is illogical to miss things that are no longer in existence… However, i do on occasion miss I-chaya, he was my pet sehlat as a child and died protecting me from a le-matya in my youth.”

 

“Whats a sehlat?” Alex asked curiously not minding this more open side of Spock.

 

“Sehlats resemble what a human would call giant teddy bears. They also have six inch fangs, i am glad they did not go completely extinct when the planet was destroyed as there are efforts being made to raise their numbers on new Vulcan.”

 

“That's great, i never realised Vulcans entertained the idea of pets.” Alex smiled to herself at the thought of such illogical creatures being close with lots of tiny logical vulcan children. It was endearing.

 

“Indeed, domesticated Sehlats are quite popular amongst Vulcan children.” Spock almost smiled at the memories that came to mind of I-chaya.

 

“See i wish i missed a family pet, but being in space makes me miss the rain more than anything. I don't want any of the weird alien weather i just want to be stood out in the rain with jo watching her jump in puddles in her yellow raincoat.” Alex watched Leonards face change as he reminisced and couldn't help the smile that stretched across her face, his eyes were full of love, shining as he basked in the nostalgia for a second.

 

“Has she still got that raincoat? And the red wellies?” Jim asked, innocent curiosity in his tone as he craned his neck to look up at his best friend.  _ I miss Jo too. _

 

“Yup, well i gotta keep getting her the next size up she just won't stop growing. But-” Leonard went silent as a ringing filled the room and everyone was turning their heads this way and that to try and find the source of the noise, before it stopped. Leonard just shrugged then leaning back against the front of the sofa and rubbing his free hand up and down Alex's shin soothingly. “If it rings again then I'll answer it. Anyway Nyota, c'mon it's your turn.” he ushered his glass toward her encouraging her to spill the beans.

 

“Well, god i don't know i can't think properly. I guess i miss just traveling. As stupid as it sounds, because i know we're out here in space, but there so much to see on our planet and i still haven't seen even half of it. And i don't know if I'll ever get the chance to.”

 

“That's a really good point i never thought about that. Just don't ever go to Britain there's not much to see there honestly.” Alex laughed lightheartedly as Nyota sniggered into her glass. Alex liked this, the felt like she was finally settling on properly. Like she finally knew little snippets about each of them that were so personal and it made her feel warm inside. Not only that be she had an idea forming, she didnt care if the rest of them thought it was weird it's just what she'd always been like as a person. She was getting them all presents.  _ Though they're all pretty strange themselves they'd probably just get really excited if not slightly confused like children do, well especially Jim. God i just- these guys are so important to me and i- i don't think i'd be here right now if it wasn't for them.  _ Be it belated birthday presents or just general thanks for being with her during all this shit presents, she was getting them something to thank them. And she now knew exactly what she was getting each of them.

  
  


There was a ringing sound again and Leonard frowned deeply reaching behind himself and pulling his data padd out from under the spare pillow on the sofa accidently pressing the accept call button before he'd got it infront of his face.

 

“Dad what are you doin- whoa, you know razors are a thing that exist right?” Jo's voice came from the device with shock and everyone in the room including spock was laughing as Leonard pinched the bridge of his nose chuckling. “Oh my god theres so many voices, are you having a meeting? I can call back.”

 

“Absolutely not, i think it's about time you finally introduced us to her Leonard, she practically famous.” Nyota commented with a soft smile as Leonard looked over with a pink flush to his cheeks, it was sweet that she was making the effort. It was nice how eager everyone seemed to meet his little girl even Spock was leaning in slightly raising that signature brow of his. He knew he talked about Jo alot but he didnt realise half of them hadn't ever met her or spoke with her.

 

“Uwwww i bet i can guess all of your names just from seeing you, alright make an orderly line!” Jo ordered from the screen hoping everyone could hear her clearly, excitement flowing through her as Leonard watched her jigging gently on the screen with the biggest grin. He couldn't help but smirk at her bossiness. “Wait who's that? There's a blob on the bottom left of the screen-Uncle Jim! Whoa does nobody know what a razor is jeez. Why are you and dad both looking all grizzly?”

 

“Thats top secret information Jo if i told you i’d have to kill you. Anyway aren't you more interested on the voices you dont recognise alow me to introduce you to my crew! This here is commander-” 

 

“Nooo Uncle Jim stop i have to guess remember. Besidesss, this is so easy. Thats Mr Spock, and thats Nyota. I thought mister Spock was a Vulcan that's not a logical haircut...But i suppose he isn't as grizzly as either of you so… oh Shoot, Hi commander Spock, live long and prosper, cmon, cmonnnn.”  Jo grunted as she tried to widen the miniscule gap in her fingers to give Spock the Vulcan salute, using her other hand to try and separate her fingers more. Spock couldn't help the half smile that came to his face at this endearing display from Leonard's daughter. “I'm really sorry my hands dont work i swear i've been practicing.” Jo sounded genuinely hurt as she dropped her hand.

 

“It is quite alright, i had to practice myself to master the Vulcan salute I'm positive you'll get there soon if you keep trying.” Spock encouraged receiving a shy smile in return.

 

“You're a lot nicer than other Vulcans i've met. Did i tell you about the Vulcan at the supermarket last week dad? He barged past me and made me drop my bananas and he didn't even turn around and say sorry.”

 

“That's awful doodlebug i hope you told him to watch where he's going in future.”

 

“How rude, i assure you not all Vulcans have such bad manners.” Spock added frowning slightly at the short story.

 

“I did and yea i know dont worry mister Spock, as that grumpy Vulcan was walking away a Vulcan boy came up and helped me pick out a fresh bunch he was really nice and his mom came over and apologised for the tall Vulcan guy barging into me.”

 

“Now don't you be getting any ideas about boys just because one was nice to you.” Leonard chastised pointing at the screen accusingly as Nyota waved a hand at him.

 

“Ignore him he's just grumpy cuz he misses you.” Nyota rolled her eyes at the grumpy face Leonard was pulling as she got herself comfy again.

 

“Don't worry dad boys are still gross, i don't see how they're ever not gunna be gross but i'm not getting any ideas!” Jo sighed dramatically perking up when she heard a familiar giggle. “Hey is that Alex? Where is she?”

 

Bones looked over at the red head who was only propped up using her arm now, seeing how there was bags under her eyes and not enough colour to her skin, he almost told Jo she wasn't feeling well enough to talk until he saw something light up in her eyes that tugged at the strings on his heart. “She's right here, hold on.” He stretched the padd out handing it to Alex as Jim raised a brow at him from his other side.  _ Of course she's already met Jo. Bones must really like her. _

 

Alex titled the padd to the side of her slightly so the bouncing girl couldn't see her face just yet. “Hey Jo i want you to make me a promise okay, some things have happened since we last talked and i don't want you to freak out okay?”

 

Jo tilted her head to the side slightly in concern, she didn't like the way that sentence was worded,  _ why does she sound worried that im not gunna like her anymore or something? _ “I promise i won't freak out, but i wanna know why you think i'd freak out it the first place!” Alex tilted the screen so that she was in clear view at smiled wearily at the little girl who wore a curious yet surprised face as she leaned in closer to her padd. “ You look poorly Alex are you feeling ok- oh my god, what is that!”

 

Alex went visibly red in the cheeks as Jo scowled at her through the padd pointing an accusing finger, undeniably nervous that she was indeed freaking out about the discovery of her new ears which hurt Alex a little bit to think she'd hate them straight away. “Uh- what's what?”

 

“Those squiggly cuts on your freshly shaved head, because i know you didn't just go for a hair cut they're sore.” she said with concern looking up at the red head with a sad face. “You don't have to tell me i know its probably classified but i hope you punched whoever did that in the face.”

 

“I did, well something along those lines.” Alex smirked thanking the lord the girl wasn't phased by her ears, she changed the subject quickly so she didn't have to go into to much detail of the mission and the horrible memories that were no doubt going to stay with her for life. “What about these then these are new too.” She said pushing her ears forward and sticking her tongue out making Jo giggle.

 

She sighed putting her hands together seriously before making eye contact with Alex and nodding to herself. “So dads dating an alien now.” she grinned hearing most of the room burst into laughter and what sounded like her dad coughing in the background. “They're pretty cool though you look like a pixie, oh my god wait wait waittttttt, does that mean you're a Vulcan like mister Spock?” it eventually sunk in for her as Alex watched the girls eyes go wide.

 

“Yea, me and Mister Spock representing for all the half human half Vulcans out there.” Alex spoke seeing Spock half smile from the corner of her eye made her face heat up slightly,  _ getting a little bit too comfortable Alex, he seems like he quite liked being involved in it though so maybe... _

 

“So those are your real ears, you didn't get like, cosmetic surgery or anything you've been half and half the entire time?! And you didn't know? I mean i guess you didn't know, you dont look like you've knew this for very long.” Jo fired out questions at a mile per minute, smiling as Alex's face cracked into the biggest grin as laughter overtook her.

 

“No i didn't know till a couple of hours ago. They're definitely real-Ow! Leonard!” Alex held her ear as a finger quickly left the frame of the camera after flicking one of her ears playfully. The look in her eyes was a mixture of amusement and betrayal. Jim couldn't help himself as he let out a loud laugh slapping Bones on the leg as his friend leaned back like he was about to get a slap.

 

“You should ban him from the med bay for that.” Jo spoke firmly. folding her arms as everyone keeled over and laughed again.

 

“Why does that warrant me being banned?” Leonard raised a brow from his seat chuckling at the serious face his daughter wore, not being able to take it seriously at all in her pajamas.

 

“it just does, she’ll get you back. He really doesn't like it when you touch his neck he turns into a turtle, oh oh or jab him in the sides! Oh shoot i'm gotta go i think moms awake, bye guys it was really nice talking to you all. Love you dad!” Jo whispered before the screen went black and the call ended. Leonard chuckled to himself as the conversation filled the room once again feeling far more at ease than he had in awhile. Pulling out his comm he flicked it open to see a message from Alex, looking up he made eye contact with a confused brow raise before opening the message hastily.

 

**#########**

 

**Thank You for this, it feels normal it's really nice. But can i have you to myself tonight? You don't need to rush off and treat anyone?**

**-ADR**

 

**#########**

 

**I'm all yours for however long you need, no calls from med bay for the next 2 days at least, i promise you that. Want me to kick these bastards out?**

**-LHM**

 

**##########**

 

**Not yet give them another half hour or so**

**-ADR**

 

**##########**

  
  


“Okay so i was going to tell just Alex this but since we're all here and it's probably going to get a laugh out of all of us im spilling the beans now.” Nyota put out her hands as if she was trying to steady herself from the sheer power of the news she was about to tell. “We have a fanbase, like most of the well known main bridge crew members and the most talked about members, and people write stories about us and make art about us.”

 

“Oh my god you're serious? Are they like good drawings or really bad? Actually i'd be worried depending on how much detail they had.” Alex bit her nails anxiously waiting for a reply.

 

“Some of them are really great some not so much, some of the stories are really graphic as well… it seems that our ‘fans’ like to do something called ‘ship' us with each other in their stories and since that video you posted Alex… They've went crazy over you and Leonard.”

 

“How crazy is crazy?” Leonard commented tapping his screen getting ready to google this shit on his own, not liking the smug smirk that Nyota was giving him.

 

“Google ‘Dr McRied’ rule 34.” she said innocently enough.

 

“Do not google that!” Jim butted in looking at Nyota in disbelief as a smile spread across his face. “You're serious?” He looked at Nyota, mischief dancing in his eyes as he laughed loudly when she nodded. “This should be funny.”

 

“Whats rule 34?” Spock spoke mildly confused looking up he saw Alex frowning at the floor as if she knew the answer but had forgotten it before she looked up at spock in horror and curiosity as she remembered.

 

“Oh my god, rule 34, its basically if theres a fan base for it, there's porn for it. They've made porn out of pairings of people from the enterprise?! Oh oh no.” Alex giggled to herself stealing the padd from Leonard and shuffling closer to him till she was pressed up against his side and he slung his arm around her shoulder keeping her close. “What was it again? DrMcRied? Okay.” She tapped at the keys rapidly before hitting search and going to the too well known site that was labelled as rule 34. Clicking on the link her eyes went wide straight away in shock. “Wow most of these must have taken so long to draw oh my god, that actually looks like you!” Alex gasped clicking on one image to enlarge it making Leonards cheeks visibly burn.

 

“Jesus christ.”

 

_ Its damn obvious that most of the people that have drawn these are horny perverse bastards with a strange eye for detail. Though i gotta admitt its pretty amazing the amount of detail despite it literally being a digital drawing of us going at it. With her bent over my desk no less. Typical. _ Bones could see the likeness in his face and the likeness in hers, thank god there wasn't much skin on show in this particular piece of art he was a little worried that if this could be so nsfw with nothing really out or on show how bad the others could be. As she clicked next he almost felt himself choke as the next image loaded.

 

“Oh wow… erm.” Alexs cheeks went a darker shade of red as Leonard covered his eyes failing to hide the nervous chuckle and smile as he looked at Jim next to him, knowing he would just as easily do the same back to Jim, he saw the need to know look in his friends eyes and passed him the padd _. _ He turned to smirk at Ace with a suggestive look in his eyes as he returned his focus to the image with Jim who was openly gawking at the screen, laughing inwardly at how his one look had made her already red cheeks go tomato red he squeezed her thigh lovingly hoping she understood the tiny gesture. A silent question posed without words.  _ You doing okay? _ As nimble fingers wrapped around his own and squeezed ever so gently he knew the answer was yes. So he returned his focus to the spectacle that was Jim's bright red face.

 

The picture was a side view of both of them in bed, well on the bed more accurately, Leonard wearing nothing but trousers that were half sliding down his ass as he pounded into Alex, both his hands grabbing plump thighs pushing them out wide keeping her legs spread open as the red heads back arched up into the perfect curve, her breasts pushed together by her one hand as the other grabbed the headboard behind her in an iron grip. The colours were so vivid it almost seemed like it was a digital drawing of a photograph. But he knew it couldn't be since he hadn't had her like that yet. Though only half of her face was visible he could see the hung open mouth and the brows that always knitted together whenever she was getting close, that was something they'd definitely got spot on.

 

“Thats graphic, and i technically can't even see a dick. So that's saying something.” Jim said coughing as he clicked next. “Oh wow what? i thought this was meant to be just you two? Why am i in this?” Jim frowned down at the padd. Not believing his eyes as another decent drawing sat on the screen depicting what was very obviously Alex sat on a bed between him and Bones hair down and ass on show as she jacked him and bones off. And the faces they wore were what freaked him out the most, because damn they were drawn too well despite not being highly detailed, he could see the sigh that'd be coming out of Bones mouth as his eyes shut and a hand that wasn't his own took over, and he could see himself looking hungrily up at the redheads hidden face as she held his junk in her hand.

 

Jim looked over at Alex who couldn't see the screen at all and watched as she met his eyes before she started wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. He couldn't help the laugh that came out of him. “You would not be making suggestive eyebrows if you saw what we're seeing.”

 

“The entire fanbase has made me into a slut haven't they?”

 

“I'm pretty sure that's happened to everyone don't worry about that too much.” Nyota laughed out loud, “there's art and stories of Leonard with people he'd never be with and in positions you'd not even have the capacity to imagine. I haven't seen them myself i just got told by Sulu. Apparently Leonard, you, Jim and Spock have a pretty fair amount of the fanbase dedicated to you. Oh and there's strangely a lot of you and scotty, im not sure why but-?” Nyota asked skeptically shrugging as Alex shook her head slowly faking innocence.

 

“Is that... Nyota and Alex?” Jim questioned, noticing how everyone's attention snapped back to him in an instant. Bones leaning over almost immediately examining the screen below him, eyebrows nearly reaching his hairline.

 

“Is it hot?” Alex piped up wanting to be shown the image but not getting any chance to see as Jim and Leonard crowded around the padd, even watching as Spock chanced a peak watching as the vulcans cheeks went bright green. “I'll take that as a yes, Spock.” Alex winked at the vulcan before scooting forward dragging Nyota with her so they were sat right in front of the two men ogling art clearly meant for them. Putting her hand out the two guys looked up, immediately handing over the padd watching intently to see the girls reactions.

 

Nyota gasped. “wow.” She let her eyes roam over the dark colour pallette seeing the rich purples and reds in the contrasting tones of their skin under coloured lighting. Eyes following the curves of their bodies as Nyota sat firmly in Alex's lap.

 

“100% accurate, i would treasure you, you ever need me just drop me a message.” Alex winked at Nyota receiving a playful slap from the woman.

 

“My god you get such a big head sometimes its like youre a man in a woman's body.” Nyota rolled her eyes while smiling at Alex.

 

“yea and an extremely overconfident one at that.” Leonard chuckled at the look of mock offence Alex wore.

 

“Its rightly placed confidence I've never had any complaints!”

 

“Well i could probably come up with some.”

 

“Go on then.” Alex folded her arms in challenge at the unshaven doctor as he looked up at the ceiling and back at her with a smirk knowing he was bullshitting.

 

“The whole ginger thing, it's really not doing it for me, the freckles the hair, i just aint feeling it.” Leonard couldn't help but choke out a laugh at the end as Alex keeled over giggling at him and his horrendous attempt at trying to lie convincingly. “I'm so bad at lying about most things why am i like this.” Leonard Pulled the skin of his cheeks down dramatically so his eyelids were stretched wide giving him the most traumatized expression ever. Spock started laughing at this as well, his quiet drawn out laugh, the same as the first time Leonard had heard him laugh back on that god forsaken planet that they found jaylah on, and before long they were all laughing again.

 

“Oh here's some juicy art, Spock and Leonard and Spock and Jim.” Alex whistled while wiggling her eyebrows watching everyone else's reaction. Leonard just puffed out a laugh before responding.

 

“Like hell, Spock didn't even know what a love bite was let alone how to give one.” Leonard looked up chuckling slightly as Jim let out a giggle of his own at Bones’ comment, looking down he scanned the image, a toned down style not fully coloured but mostly linework, and Spock was praying on his neck like some sort of vampire, but Leonard had his face tilted back leaning against what had to be some sort of wall, looking well and truly lost in the feeling. It felt oddly romantic despite being centered around lust and other such things which is what made him laugh. Looking down at the second image that was of Spock and Jim he wanted to laugh harder, not because of the image but because he could see Jims ears burning as he stared at the picture. Just two faces, Jims and Spock's, but Jim was sucking on slender fingers as Spock watched his fingertips disappearing into Jims mouth.

  
  


“I can't wait till they're all arguing about who'd top and who'd bottom.” Alex laughed looking at Nyota pointedly as they both keeled into each other with giggles. Alex willing the sadness away in front of her friends, she needed things to feel normal for just a little while longer.

 

“Say what now?” Leonard commented before the next image loaded and he nearly choked on his own saliva. The image that met him was him sat in his office on his swivel chair with Jim between his legs with his cock in his mouth and his hand tangled in blonde hair, mouth slightly parted with his eyes closed tight.

 

“I'm saving that.” Alex whispered. Earning her a playful slap from Leonard who rolled his eyes at her. He didnt realise these would be so intimate with how graphic they were. The talent of people and they were using their talent doing this?  _ Whatever floats your boat i guess. Oh now come on. _

 

Next image was him taking it hard from Spock, lied flat on his back with his legs thrown over Spock's shoulders. “ ain't ever gunna happen.” he said with a shrug leaning back to let Jim, Nyota and Spock focus on the screen, noticing just how relaxed Spock was now after his hot chocolate, and how his face went positively green at seeing the current image om screen, it was oddly flattering. _ He's definitely had enough to loosen up if he's been laughing and blushing like a schoolgirl. _ Turning to Alex he smiled softly feeling tiredness sink further into his bones, he yawned rubbing a thumb gently across her cheek. Before resting his hand on her shoulder squeezing lightly as she leaned into his chest.

 

“I mean you know they're mostly going to show Spock as a top right? He's got more physical strength than either of you.” Alex commented watching the confused look Spock gave her she laughed. “Yea, i don't get it either Spock, just how some people's minds work.”

 

“I thought we'd have seen more scotty in this since it's clearly just went with the enterprise tag.” Nyota frowned turning the padd in Jims hands slightly so she could see the screen better. “Oh there you go, thats what i was talking about-”

 

“What?!” Alex yelped frowning at the screen with horror. “That's way way too close to real life be a coincidence.” She gawked at the screen alongside Leonard and Spock.

 

“What do you mean close to real life oh my god is that the thing you were gunna tell me about the other day?” Nyota covered her mouth in shock taking another look at the image on screen.

 

“I didn't sleep with him just fyi.” Alex scoffed before looking away guiltily her voice going quiet. “This happened though.”

 

“That's uncomfortably detailed, i don't think he'd have the strength in his arms to keep one of your thighs lifted up like that. Though i gotta admit, the fact you've got height on him is pretty funny.” Leonard chuckled eyeing the image with a light frown seeing the way the engineers fingers were gripping his girls thighs leaving little delves in the pale skin on her leg as they clearly looked like they were about to drift higher into her dress.

 

“They're also both wearing masquerade masks.” Spock commented, eyes unable to leave their faces as he zoned out on the way the chief engineer was kissing the doctors throat tenderly.

 

“Who did you tell. All of you.” Alex frowned pointing a finger around the room at everyone but Nyota.

 

“Ahhh what? I didn't tell anyone.” Leonard put his hands up looking back and forth at Spock and Jim seeing Jim turn away guiltily. “Jim.” He warned frowning accusingly at his friend.

 

“Alright alrighttttt i may have told a few people. But like they promised to keep it on the down low.”

 

“Who'd you tell?” Nyota folded her arms raising her brows at her captain in jocking disappointment.

 

“Sulu, chekov and Chapel…” 

 

“Why Chapel?! Oh my god I'm gunna owe her so much more than i already do.” Alex whined putting her head in her hands dramatically as Leonard laughed wholeheartedly.

 

“Let's face it though she may have been young once, but i doubt she's drawn this.” Leonard motioned to the image still on screen only just noticing the numbers visible in the elevator going up and then re starting on a loop. “Oh its a gif that's nifty, the elevator numbers go up.” He pointed curiously.

 

“I bet scotty drew it. Engineers have to draw detailed drawings in their line of work how hard can this be?” Nyota motioned to the screen watching as Alex flicked open her com before dialing a number and holding it up to her ear with a frown. 

 

“Oi, yea yea im fine dont worry about that, look youre gunna recieve an image in a second off ermm that your padd? Yea? Off the captain and i want you to tell me what you know about it.” There was a pause as the scotsman suspiciously agreed. Turning him onto loudspeaker she smirked holding the comm in the centre of the room.

 

“Whys the link say it's from rule 34? You think i was born last night lass?”

 

“Just open it Scotty.” Jim said not being able to help the short breathy laugh that left him at how suspicious his chief engineer was.

 

“Oh, well if you insist, such a weird bunch of-” there was a loud cough and an awkward silence. “What's this all about then, oh its a gif that's a nice little touch is tha- Hold on a damn second how is this… did you draw this?” Scotties voice went up two octaves as he questioned the redhead on the other end of the line.

 

“Yes absolutely, i created this piece of art despite being there at the time and having to artistic ability whatsoever to commemorate our time together sweety.” Alex cooed sarcastically.

 

“Sarccy bastard, i was only asking, why you showing me this anyway?” You could practically hear scotties eye roll on the end of the line.

 

“Well somebody's drew it Mo-Scotty. And it wasnt me or you apparently.”  Alex swatted at Jim as he pointed at her giggling at her near slip up in calling Mr Scott Monty again.

 

“Well shit you're not wrong there… well who knows? About that, you know the drawings origins?” Scotty nearly stuttered still obviously a little embarrassed about the whole situation.

 

“Leonard. Nyota, Spock, Jim, Nurse Chapel, Sulu, and Chekov.” Alex listed off the names looking around the group to see if she'd missed anyone to which everyone responded with a shake of their heads.

 

“Jaylah knows as well, how the hell did so many people find out?” the scotsman almost hissed “no offence lass but gossip spreads like wildfire on this ship i wouldn't want any nonsense rumours being spread around.” 

 

“Wait you told Jaylah?” Jim asked slightly confused.

 

“Ur yea, i mean she technically asked how i knew Alex and i may have feared for my life if i didn't fess up because she decided that i was lying about something, but yea, she didn't seem that bothered to be honest, found that a bit annoying, couldn't even pretend to be jealous- anyway there's no way the drawing can be from her she's know less than 24 hours.”

 

Alex couldn't help but laughing at that and struggled to keep the com upright as she keeled over. “I can only imagine how fast you got that out in the open did she end up having to ask you to repeat yourself?”

 

There was a pause on scotties end of the line, and a choked silence filled with short sporadic choking noises from Jim trying to hold in his laughter. “Shut ittttt alright, you don't know meeeeee.” Scotty grumbled, his accent thick the more embarrassed he got. “Hold up lass… if you search the image its linked on another website and the username is the ‘USS-Swordsman’...”

 

“Sulu.” Jim stated with a snap of his fingers,  _ that sneaky bastard, oh he won't tell anyone, no, but he just might go and make a detailed drawing of the gossip he heard. _

 

“How much detail did you give him!” Scotty grouched at Jim from over the comm.

 

“Hey its not my fault, it's Alex that told me the story in the first place!” Jim threw his hands up as if offended he was being shouted at for this.

 

“But even i didn't go into that much detail.” She countered waving him off with an eye roll. 

 

“You all need to calm down it's not like he's got every detail of the night perfect? He's given them generic clothing and a generic position. Plus wheres the blonde wig she was wearing? She didn't have a mane of red hair that night and i know that for a fact.” Leonard interjected pointing out all the flaws with the image before everyone got themselves into a panicked frenzy about Sulu being some kind of psychic, honestly with how Jim was at times he wouldn't be surprised if it was him that would have suggested that first.

 

“Aye that's true.” Scotty said offhandedly. “Can i go back to bed now or is there another emergency- oh shoot- Jaylah i thought you were asleep lass you scared the shit out of me… its just summet the captain wanted me to take a look at, someone on the crews been messing about is all… Ahhh am not sure ya wanna see it to be honest its well erm, i- not appropriate...Alright if you're gunna be bloody stubborn about it… Can ya just once pretend you're jealous and not just compliment the doctor, i have feelings ya know… Aye she seems to be doing alright… No- of course this wasn't recently are you daft?”

 

Everyone looked at each other and then back at the comm device still in Alex's hand, Alex bit her lip as she looked up at Leonard and then the rest of her friends. “I think he's in trouble.” She whispered trying to stifle a smile.

 

“Erm no, i'm something called monogamous, ya really think i could deal with the stress of keeping two women happy when i have the ship to take care of as well. I don't care if its common in your species, the men of your species are greedy- if ya agree with me why are you arguing back then? I'm not gonna go chasing after another woman alright? Hold on is that why you've been moody the past few-”

 

“Awe hey c'mon Alex why'd you end the call?” Jim whined as scotty's voice cut off.

 

“It's a private conversation which we already heard to much of now shh.”

 

“I don't understand why people would feel the need to draw us in such compromising positions.” Spock questioned, a small frown on his face as he stared at the image again.

 

“A Lot of people think with their junk Spock. Hormonal horny bastards.” Leonard grumbled half heartedly tapping on the screen scrolling through other images on the padd. Nyota let out a small laugh and covered her mouth looking at Leonard and then at Alex. Leonard raised a brow at her skeptically. “What's funny?”

 

“You sure speak highly of yourself Leonard.” Nyota smirked at the man's confusion.

 

“Now just what are you trying to say-”

 

“That you're not exactly much better yourself.” Alex chimed smirking at him mischievously.

 

“That's rich coming from you, you started this.” Leonard pointed at Alex accusingly as she gawked at him in disbelief.

 

“I'm not denying anything, you're the one that's lying to yourself.” Alex chided.

 

“I don't know what youre talking about im the perfect southern gentleman.” Bones grunted frowning when even Jim snorted at his response.

 

“To be fair Bones you've been a lot less moody since, well, you know.” Jim raised a suggestive eyebrow at Bones then nodded at Alex sat next to him, offering her a wink. Bones looked in bewilderment between everyone as if he was being ganged up on.

 

“To be fair to Leonard, Alex…” Nyota raised both eyebrows at her. “Don't look at me like that you know damn well you don't make it easy for him.”

 

“hmm?” Alex pretended to look innocent, knowing her acting was good enough that the only people that wouldn't believe it in the room was Leonard and Nyota.

 

“When you went to his office claiming to have a migraine and Christine had to cover for you because the Captain came to medbay.” Nyota dropped them both in it gleefully, smile plastered on her face as Alex slapped a hand over her mouth.

 

Leonards cheeks burned as he coughed awkwardly running his hands through his beard out of habit. “In my defence, I'd just woke up and i hadn't had any coffee yet.”

 

“Okay now that really is sabotaging a man.” Jim chided shaking his head jokingly, “if you just woke up how did you have the energy-”

 

“I didn't, i didn't do anything she just jumped me.” Leonard waved his hands towards Alex in exasperation trying to defend himself.

 

“Well it's not like you complained, and it's not like we asked christine to cover for us. Your face when Christine said she knew what was going on was priceless.” Alex smirked at him he pinched the bridge of his nose in defeat.

 

“Course i didn't complain, like i said I'd just woke up, if you think i won't give back what you're throwing at me you're dead wrong witch. Say Nyota, just how much has she told you?” Leonard smirked looking to Nyota as Alex's eyes darted back and forth between the pair in suspicion.

 

“Most things.” Nyota replied giving Leonard a mischievous brow raise.

 

“She told you about when we were stranded on that planet because of the ion storm?” Leonard quirked a brow in Alex's direction seeing the woman tense up.

 

“Don't you dare.” She warned pointing a finger at him as Jim and Spock leaned in in anticipation.

 

“No actually that's something i haven't heard about.”

 

“You both seriously lack self control if this is going where i think it is.” Jims eyes widened as he stared at the couple in disbelief.  _ They cant have fucked that definitely would have woke us up so oh god i don't even want to know.  _ Leonard laughed and leaned towards Jim.  _ Guess i'm finding out anyway. _

 

“Just a word of advice Jimbo. Vulcans ears are almost as sensitive as their hands, maybe even more so.” Leonard breathed, the words barely audible to even Jim and he was right next to the man, but he'd heard, oh boy had he heard. And his mind was already running rampant because of it with all sorts of indecent thoughts, mostly centered around a certain first officer but a handful stemming from the thought of Bones driving the redhead around the bend with an assault on her ears.  _ Wait has Bones just gave me sex advice to use on… Spock.  _ Jim hoped his ears weren't as bright red as he knew his face was. “Nyota…” Leonard drawled. “I'll leave Alex to tell you the rest of that story.”

 

“Okay maybe i deserved that. But you are sworn to secrecy and don't you dare use it against me.” Alex whined covering her face with both hands. Nyotas musical laughter could be heard filling the room at her friends embarrassment.

 

“What why would i use that against you? Unless i really really wanted to embarrass you. I mean id probably get punched after from Bones for even attempting-”

 

“i didn't mean use it use it against me! But you better not do that either. Okay i get it I'll keep my mouth shut from now on.” She sighed crossing her arms and looking at Leonard with a pet lip.

 

“Now sweetheart, i never said you had to keep your mouth shut.” Leonard winked as he stood up so only Alex could see the mischievous glint of lust in his eyes, she could feel her cheeks heating up as she looked anywhere but at him after that, she hoped her blush wasn't too noticeable. Her eye zoning in on his ass as he made his way over to the kitchenette to pour himself a drink.

 

Nyotas eyes went wide at that, her cheeks heating up as well at the realisation of what he meant by looking at the pink flush across Alex's cheeks. She had never heard Leomard talk like that before, maybe Jim had since they were close and well… Male.

 

“Cmon Bones save that for the bedroom, or atleast save it for where you usually speak like that, which is when you're drunk out of your brains.” Jim made a gagging face which set Alex off laughing.  _ This is so weird is this what Bones is like when he's dating? Like kind of the same but also… Wait well of course he'd have no reason to talk like that around just friends. I guess it kind of makes sense. And he's probably doing it to try and annoy me somehow because he's an asshole who knows im not getting any. Just seems so odd hearing that type of shit from him about someone i actually know. Directed at them. In the same room. Ugh this is gunna take some getting used too. _

 

“Jimbo, hate to break it to you but you're in my bedroom, now guys hate to be a downer on the night but-”

 

“I need some sleep.” Alex finished off for him with a soft smile at everyone in the room.

 

“That you do.” Leonard added with genuine smile as he leaned against the countertop. Eyes softening as they met Alex's, he could see she was tired, so tired. He loved the company but he did want a little time to have her all to himself.  _ I need to be sure she's okay, she's pretty good at putting on a face in front of people. I just need to be sure, if she's beside me, laid on my chest, then I'm here if she needs me.  _ He tried to tell himself it was just so she felt safe but he needed to hold her as well, just for his own reasons, just so he could feel her there in his arms, all Alex, not some vacant shell with no mind. It'd put him at peace.

 

“Alrighty Spock, Nyota, you know what that's code for, time for us vacate.” Jim slapped his hands down on his thighs as he stood up, grabbing hold of Spock who seemed a little unsteady. “Easy there Spock maybe finishing off the entire mug wasn't the best idea.”

 

“I assure you captain i am-” Spock stumbled again the only thing from keeping him from falling was Jim's hand around his waist and his arm swung over Jim's shoulder. “May need assistance in getting back to my quarters.”

 

“Yea thats what i thought.” Jim chuckled dragging Spock out the room glancing over his shoulder to see Nyota and Alex hugging and Bones nodding at him with a wink, he rolled his eyes at that. “Night guys.” Jim sang as he stepped out the door Nyota stepping into the corridor behind him smiling as she said goodnight as well. As the door finally shut Leonard sighed.

 

“Finally… not that i didnt enjoy the company but-”

 

“I get you.” Alex cut him off, standing up from her space on the floor and waltzing over to him immediately wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling up at him through sad eyes.

 

“Alex…” Leonard uttered, wiping away a stray tear that she didn't even know she'd let escape from her cheek with his thumb. “How do you move on from something like this?” The question hung in the air for a while, a question Leonard hadn't meant to say aloud, and every silent second that passed had him on the cusp of taking it back, apologising, saying she didn't have to answer, but she did answer. And Leonard knew with her reply why he was hers, it wasn't the way she spoke, her accent, not even her humour or quirky traits. It was her brutal and raw honesty, an honesty that she never held back and in moments like this had him in awe at how he'd came across such a pure and understanding soul in a universe as fucked up as the one they were living in.

 

“Oh Leonard.” Alex let out a short laugh, another tear trailing its way down her cheek. “You move on when your heart realises there is no turning back. I moved on a long time ago, it's just re opened an old wound, im going to be okay, even if this time around it leaves a scar.” She placed a feather light kiss on his lips as she brought up a hand to his cheek, a small genuine smile appearing on her face as her fingers brushed past his new neatly trimmed beard. “I like this.”

 

Leonard smiled, lost in the surreal feeling of the moment, feeling his heart in his throat. “Yea, i thought you might.” He kissed her hand gently before pulling her towards the bed slowly. Until he felt some resistance, turning to look at her with slight confusion. 

 

“Bed is good but you know what's great before bed? A bath. Cmon.” She said matter of factly dragging him towards his door grabbing his dressing gown robe as she went.

 

“You trying to tell me i stink?” He said in mock offense before scooping her up with one quick swoop, she squealed in shock, being carried bridal style through Leonard's door and out into the corridor, feeling a little anxious about the eyes that were on them. Wrapping both hands around his neck she buried her face into his shoulder.

 

“People are gunna talk you know.” She mummbled. Noticing a few nurses walking past looking in awe for some reason. Smiling at her warmly, they seemed genuine. For some odd reason she thought people would be more judgemental and be laughing.

 

“Let em talk.”

 

“You're also shirtless.” She giggled.

 

“Shit… there's no going back now.” He sniggered as he walked through her door into her quarters heading straight for the bathroom. Her room felt oddly barron, must have been from how little she'd been sleeping in her own room lately. “I'll run the bath, you just pick out the bubbles.”

 

A smile spread across her face as she watched Leonard fuss around the bathroom, his signature frown forming as he searched for towels after turning the taps on. The cmo in his work trousers and nothing else but a pair of socks was definitely something to giggle about, she felt lucky that she was the only one who got to see him like this on the regular, all turned around and not perfectly kept or in full uniform, it was an oddly intimate thing about dating on a star ship, unless it was shore leave you'd probably be the only other person to see them undressed or in regular clothing. “You know vanessa and Stacy were walking past when you paraded me down the corridor, you gave them quite a show.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him and a light hearted laugh left her as he rolled his eyes, a smile threatening to break out on his face.

 

“Unlucky for them i'm not into andorians or telexians.” He chuckled, throwing a towel at her only for it to hit her square in the face.

 

“Oh really? I thought you'd like both after all ones has red hair and the other looks mostly human?”

 

“Believe it or not, you're the first redhead i've dated, normally I'd just admire from afar, and nah im having you on, i don't normally care to much about what species they are just so long as they look like a woman. But i've only ever dated humans, until you of course.” He winked at her holding up two bottles of bubble bath with a questioning brow raise.

 

“That one.” she pointed to the green bottle watching him pour a huge amount into the bath. “Leonard that's loads! We aren't gunna be able to see the water. And why only humans?”

 

“Honestly, no idea, it's not like other species aren't attractive, track record just shows that i've only ever pursued human women, hey do you think if we ever had kids they'd have your ears?”

 

“I don't know, it seems like its a pretty strong characteristic in the vulcan gene pool but who knows, it'd be really diluted considering I'm only half vulcan.”

 

“Honestly i was half expecting you to freak out, most other women would at the mention of kids this early on.” Leonard smirked, unbuttoning his trousers, stepping out of them while leaning against the sink, wiggling his toes as he looked down at his socks.

 

Alex rolled her eyes. “Most women just assume instead of listening, it's not like you said ‘when' we have kids you said ‘if we ever’ besides any woman who freaks out at the mention of kids at my age is probably never going to have them.”

 

“At your age, you make it sound like you're ancient.” Leonard scoffed, watching as she stood up and lifted her shirt above her head dropping it to the floor with unneeded aggression as his eyes immediately zoned in on her bare chest and traveled down to the hourglass curve of her hips. “And you're most definitely not.”  _ those classic wide child bearing hips, wait why am i even noticing them in that sense? Ah im old, im probably missing Jo, you already have a kid damn it man, see if you make it a year with her before thinking like that. We'd make gorgeous babies though… but for now these two babies I'll settle for.  _ His eyes found there way back up to her breasts and he felt his boxers tighten slightly.  _ Damn it. _

 

“My eyes are up here sweety, now get out of those and get in the bath.” She pointed to his boxers before pointing at the mountain of bubbles to her left, the bath almost entirely hidden.  _ I'm glad i can still have that effect on him from just one look, someone missed me. _ He did as he was told sinking into the bubbles and blowing them away from his face.  _ This is priceless i need to take a photo of this.  _ “Stay right there. Smile.” She laughed as he closed his eyes a smile tugging at his lips as she snapped a photo on her padd.

 

“You coming in or am i gunna have to come and drag you in.” His voice was gruff as he sighed relishing the hot water easing his stiff muscles, he hadn't realised how much he'd missed baths.

 

“Alright alright I'm coming.” She slid of her shorts and underwear in one and stepped in groaning as she felt the water warm her up straight away. She slid down opposite him at the other end of the bath. 

 

“Oh no you don't, get over here.” opening his eyes he grabbed her arm and pulled her over till she was laying on his chest settled  between his legs. “Better.” He stated playing with strands of her hair as she leaned back against him. He felt his heart sigh as he sunk a bit lower, this was perfect, god it was just too perfect, what had he done to deserve this beautiful woman. His eyes creaked open as a hand wormed its way between them sliding up his shaft languidly. 

 

“Much better.” She hummed smirking to herself as her gentle strokes earned her a groan.

 

“Later, just relax.” He hummed, looking down at her with heavy lids as her face turned up to meet his gaze, coming up her lips met with his own as he continued to play with her hair, her tongue worming its way inside his mouth gliding past his own in a slow dance, she could feel the familiar ache sparking as she turned herself, worming her hand into his hair as she let out a breathy sigh into the kiss. He could feel fingers massaging at his scalp before her hand closed and tugged lightly. “Aleexxx. God, please.” He groaned, wanting to hit himself for the gravel in his voice already as he sighed into another kiss.

 

“Fuck the bath... i need you.” She breathed, breath coming up short as she pulled away from him with swollen lips.

 

“Damn it.”


	21. Slow and Steady or Hot and Heavy

Update time! I know its only a short paragraph but its mainly focused on sexy time so... Sue me. No wait don't. I dont own any of the characters but my oc, please enjoy!

 

* * *

 

The lights dimmed as her back hit the mattress. “ _ Please.” _ The words left her lips like a prayer as she held his face above hers, fingertips tracing the sides of his face tenderly brushing past soft dark hairs as her eyes met his, the weight of his body pressing her into the mattress as water dripped from his brow dampening the sheets even further. She felt like she was on fire, alight with anticipation, eager for his touch craving it in a way she never had before, it almost scared her. She had this yearning for him deep inside her chest as his fingers traced the length of her jaw with a feather light touch, tender as they went before they were replaced with his mouth. Gentle kisses, ever so slowly peppering her cheek and jaw as the hairs from his beard tickled her. Alex breathed in, closing her eyes relishing in the gentle caresses and attention Leonard was giving her.  _ This is perfect i could stay like this forever, i feel- i feel… adored.  _

 

She gasped as he slid in, her mind swimming in the thought of just how full he made her feel, he was just enough, perfect. A low groan pulled her from her thoughts as he raised his head, those autumn brown eyes looking at her through heavy lids, swimming with something that made her heart ache as she brought her hand up to cup his cheek.  _ Oh my god.  _ Sighing as he started moving she pulled his head down into a kiss, the room soon filling with small sweet noises of pleasure, her head lolled back onto the pillow as he continued at the leisurely pace, watching him dip down to ravish the small crook between her neck and shoulder, tender kisses finding their way to her collarbone as she ran a hand through thick brown hair. A quiet whimper left her as he brushed past that bundle of nerves inside of her ever so teasingly on repeat.  _ This feel right, this is- this is how it should be, i need him. I-oh my god I'm in love with him. That's what this is... I love you, I'm yours. _

 

Leonard raised his head again, those emerald green orbs pulling him in as he leaned down again, placing feather light kisses to the shell of her ear, he could feel her tighten around him at that, just like she did every time he brushed past that spot inside her.  _ God, she's beautiful like this.  _ His hand found its way into her hair as he came back up for air, the tips of their noses brushing past one another as he slowly rocked back and forth, unable to look away from the look of bliss on her face, lips parted, eyes closed, cheeks tinted pink, so serene even as her eyes opened, her eyes smiling before her lips followed suit. The most natural smile he'd ever seen as he felt her hand cupping his face again, her thumb tracing his bottom lip with loving curiosity. He could feel his heart ache as he looked down at her, he knew that look in her eyes, it was something most people only saw in the movies.

 

“I-” She barely got the letter out before he smiled down at her, putting a finger over her mouth.

 

“I know.” He whispered, leaning down to capture her lips in a searing slow kiss which had them both gasping for air when they parted, lips wet and swollen as Leonard turned his attention back to her ear, dragging his tongue across the tip in time with a particularly long thrust. He heard it then, the quiver in her voice as she breathed his name into his ear, he answered with her own name as he groaned feeling her tighten around him as his mouth worked wonders. He could feel the rise and fall of her chest as he brought her higher and higher, but the arch of her back and the gasp of his name as he watched her finally come undone was his undoing as he joined her, the wave of pleasure making his lips lose as he whispered sweet nothings into her ear. “Please. Don't leave again, i need you here Alex, i need you here darlin’”.  _ I- i love you... Well ain't that just typical. _

 

* * *

 

“Whoa there spock steady now, i gotta admit when Dr Reid suggested hot chocolate i wasn't expecting you to agree to it.” Jim chuckled as he steered Spock into his quarters, oh the amount of questioning looks they'd got from the crew as he practically carried spock down the corridors.

 

“On the contrary Jim, i was among friends and decided Dr Reids suggestion of 'loosening up’ as she put it would be a good idea, if it helped her feel more comfortable i would gladly do it again.”

 

“Jeez spock i didn't realise you liked her that much.” He said as he sat Spock down on his bed huffing out slightly as he stood across from Spock with his hands on his hips trying to catch his breath. Spock's brow creased slightly at that.

 

“It is not a matter of just liking her Captain. As a half Vulcan myself i understand the hostility that she has faced as i have experienced it myself, though certainly not to the degree she has faced. I feel that it is my responsibility to be there for-”

 

“You don't have to say it Spock, i get it. I was joking.” Jim said with a reassuring smile, clasping Spock on the shoulder as he spoke.

 

“Oh, i see.”

 

“Besides, i like her too, she's grown on me a bit.”

 

Spock laughed at that, it was a foreign noise but one Jim couldn't help but find endearing. “Not as much as she has grown on Dr Mccoy, it is a strange thing seeing the doctor so emotionally open towards another person.”

 

“What do you mean?” Jim frowned sitting down next to Spock making the bed dip slightly.

 

“Have you not noticed the way that he looks at her Jim? I for one have never seen Leonard pause before treating someone's injuries as he did when he saw Alex.”

 

“Yea, the mans in love Spock give him a break, he probably doesn't even know it himself yet.” Jim smiled at that knowing damn well Bones would probably freak out when he realised himself.

 

“When do you think he will realise?” Spock asked curiously.

 

“Probably sometime soon, especially after today.” Jim trailed off, they sat like that for a while just taking in everything that had happened recently in a shared and comfortable quiet before Jim turned to see Spock looking at him with curious brown eyes. He couldn't help but notice the way Spocks lips parted as if he were about to speak but closed again without making a sound. Without so much as a warning Spock grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him forward, any alarm bells that had been ringing or shock that had shot through Jim as that hand closed around the fabric of his shirt left the instant he felt lips against his own. Instead his mind reeled as his body betrayed him, sinking into his first officers touch in an instant and returning the kiss eagerly as he nipped at Spock's bottom lip, a hand coming up to weave itself into the wavy loches that he secretly adored and hated simultaneously, just because of how well they hid his ears. Spock tasted divine, the hot chocolate was still prominent on his lips as their tongues explored one anothers mouth with fascination, Spock easily picking up on the warm gentle burn of whisky that lingered on Jim's lips. But suddenly Jim had pulled away standing up with lightning speed as he paced the space in front of Spock looking particularly distraught with himself.

 

“Spock, this is wrong. You're drunk, i will not take advantage of you like t-”

 

Spock stood grasping Jim by both arms and slowly backing him up against the wall. “Jim, i am perfectly aware of what I'm doing, i am not drunk, if anything the only affect the hot chocolate still has over me is what i believe Leonard would call 'Liquid Courage.’”

 

Jim eyed his first officer skeptically at first as he silently assessed if their was any truth to his words, his heart pounding in his chest still from the adrenaline and heat burning in his cheeks at the suggestive position he was in with Spocks arms blocking him in against the wall on either side of his head.  _ I mean there no time like the now but god i really wasn't expecting this.  _ Jim didn't respond instead raising his brows suspiciously at Spock before yanking the man down by his own shirt into another kiss, groaning into Spock's mouth as his hair was pulled exposing his neck, before Spock could even think about doing anything he reversed their positions. Blocking Spock in with a smirk as he watched his first officers face take on such a heated and flustered expression as he stared at Jim with a raised brow, needless to say it was a look probably used in porn a lot. At Least that's what Jim thought.  _ God why does he look so good with his mop of hair and stubble and that goddamn brow raise he does- _

 

Spock smirked at that Jim's thoughts coming through loud and clear through their contact. Inwardly smirking even wider at the perplexed look Jim gave him for being so smug over what seemed like nothing in particular. “You seem to forget Jim, being half Vulcan i do possess touch telepathy.” Spock did his infamous none smile as Jim went red in the face, he was in the dominant position right now and Spock was still making him blush like a virgin!  _ Bastard. _ Spock smirked again.

 

“Shut up Spock.” Jim breathed, the warmth of his breath ghosting over Spock's mouth, the tips of their noses brushing past each other for a second before Jim smirked to himself, eyes blazing as they met Spocks.  _ Give me your hand. _

 

“Jim?” Spock uttered, cocking his head to the side like a confused dog before raising his hand ever so slightly, enough for Jim to register the movement and grab his hand himself. He was already hard thinking about what he was about to do but somehow the look on Spock's face as he brought Spock's finger to his lips made wearing pants ridiculously painful for a couple of seconds. There was no space between them, centimetres at the most as Jim guided his first officers index finger into his mouth giving it a playful kitten lick with his tongue as he pushed their lower halves together, he couldn't help the groan he made as Spock's face contorted from pleasure and brown eyes almost rolled back into their skull, eyelids fluttering lightly as his focus returned to Jim's face. Or more accurately Jims mouth around his finger every so often darting up to meet his eyes.  _ Jesus christ does he have any idea what he's doing to me.  _ Jim almost lost it when he started to suck and he saw Spock's eyebrows furrow as he let out a shaky breath, subconsciously wetting his lips before Jim started circling his tongue as he sucked. Spock was at a loss for words as a groan ripped through his throat, blue eyes burning as they watched him like a hawk. Nobody had done this to him before, and the sensitivity in his hands was making this far more erotic than it should have been, if any blood wasn't already headed south from the moment Jim had moaned into his mouth then it was all headed down now, and though he ached to be touched there, he could wait if it meant Jim was sucking on his finger in such a filthy manner. But then Jim did something unexpected, grinding their hips together he added a second finger into the wet heat of his mouth, and Spock saw sparks behind his eyes as his breath hitched, panting at the overwhelming sensations, the tongue teasing both his fingers and Jim's arousal rubbing against his own.

 

“Jim, please. I-” Spock could feel himself losing control, the heat pooling as pressure continued to build, he didnt care if he sounded breathless, nor did he care that he was growling.

 

Jim dropped the fingers from his mouth, thoughts of taking Spock right here against the wall running rampant in his head as he willed himself to calm down and finish what he started the right way. He grabbed a fistful of Spock's hair and yanked him down till his ear was on level with his mouth. 

 

“Let go Spock.” Jim breathed into his ear, running his tongue over the outer shell before sucking the tip into his mouth. And all at once Spock crumbled, seeing white as his head lolled on his shoulders with closed eyes, a low moan leaving his lips as he leaned his head back to rest against the wall as he came, one hand clenched in the fabric of Jims uniform shirt so hard his knuckles were going white. 

 

Opening his eyes somewhat lethargically he was met with an awestruck look from Jim before a smug smile spread across his features.  _ I just made Spock cum in his pants.  _ Spock rolled his eyes as he raised a brow a Jim who stepped away from the wall to let Spock out.

 

Spock paused as he walked over to his bed before turning round to look at Jim with a slight frown.  _ I did not realise that my ears were as sensitive as my hands... _ “My ears, how did you know they-”

 

“Bones.” Jim shot back instantly. Unable to stop smiling even as Spock pulled off his shirt. Not noticing the glance Spock made towards his still tented trousers. 

 

“It seems that you and the doctor both have some sort of an ear fetish.” Spock commented as he walked back over to where Jim stood smiling like a maniac, backing him up against the same wall they'd just moved from with such grace Jim hardly noticed they'd moved until his back hit the wall. “Pointed ears to be specific… i may be able to be of assistance.” Spock breathed, his breath ghosting over Jims lips as the blond swallowed hard, any words that had formed turned to a jumbled mess as a cool hand swiftly popped the button on his uniform pants and wrapped around his length. 

 

_ Oh god lord _


	22. Lunch?

I know this is only gunna be a short chapter in comparison to my other chapters and i just need you all to know i havent given up on this story. Far from it ive just been bogged down with work and such, i work two jobs now and life just seems to be getting in the way a bit. Enjoy sone Alex and Leonard bonding. 

* * *

 

Leonard hummed as he woke up to the feeling of soft kisses on his collarbone as slender fingers curled the hairs on his chest playfully. A smile spreading across his features before he'd even opened his eyes, he was warm inside and out and everything felt strangely hazey in a cozy comfortable kind of way as he felt her shift against him resting her head back on his chest gently. He could feel her smile against his skin.

 

“Mornin’” he mumbled, leaning down to kiss the top of her head without so much as cracking an eye open. 

 

“Don't say that that makes me feel obliged to get out of bed, shhhh.” She hummed through a soft smile as she closed her eyes again, wanting to be closer to him despite her being flush against his side, skin to skin and oh so deliciously warm because of it. Hearing the constant thump of his heart in his chest was like some sort of lullaby as it lulled her into dreamy trance, it felt safe here, she felt safe with him. And then it happened, the inevitable, something that had to happen if there relationship was ever going to last long term. But it didn't make it any less embarrassing for Alex as she froze in place on his chest not knowing what to do, she hadnt meant for it to come out! Let alone make a sound! Then she felt it, Leonard was shaking, vibrating almost. She felt it before she heard it, his laughter, the low chuckle that turned into contagious laughter as she tried to suppress a smile and giggle as she hid her face in his arm. She knew she was red in the face, yea it could have been worse it wasnt that loud but still!

 

“3 out of 10, that was weak, it was like a mouse squeaking!” Leonard continued laughing in quiet bursts as Alex groaned into his arm unable to hold back the embarrassed grin on her face, at least he wasn't disgusted.  _ As he shouldn't be it's a perfectly natural bodily function!  _ But she was still embarrassed none the less, after all it was the first time it had happened. “hey hey, stop hiding, trust me you're glad you did that first if it was one of mine we'd both be dead.” She looked up only to see the shit eating smile he was wearing and slapped him on the chest.

 

“I hate you don't look at me like that! It was an accident it snuck up on me… at least it doesn't smell.” She trailed off looking back at him as his face cracked into a shit eating grin and his eyes sparkled with laughter again before she slapped him on the chest again spurring on another bout of laughter that he'd been holding back. It was admittedly nice to see him laughing, it was the most she'd seen him laugh in a while so what if it was over a squeaky fart! 

 

“I'm not looking at you like anything, no judgement here… at least i know i don't have to compete with you.”

 

“What do you mean?” She questioned with a frown before the smell hit her at the same time she saw the mischievous glint in his eyes, before the duvet was thrust up over her head and she was trapped in the gas chamber that was under the covers. “Leonard-oh my god- im -” she made a borking noise as she battled against the duvet and the man above her holding it in place. “I'm going to kill you! what the hell have you been eating!” she cried as he finally let go of the covers watching her whip them off her with such haste she almost punched him square in the face, he couldn't help but laugh as she half glared half laughed at him, sat there in her birthday suit completely at ease being on show in front of him in a way that wasn't sexual in the slightest. He liked this, this is exactly what it should be like, complete comfort and trust, even in their most exposed and vulnerable state. “You disgust me.” She mocked as the smell finally dissipated and she suspiciously laid back down, making sure to keep some distance between herself and Leonard for the time being.

 

“You started it witch.” He smiled coyly at her raising his eyebrows mockingly at her as he chuckled.

 

“I just wanted a morning of being comfy and cuddling and I've brought out the devil in you McCoy.”

 

“Don't last name me, Pointy.” Leonard jabbed her in the side jokingly smirking as she jolted away from his touch and scowled at him. He sighed relaxing back into the pillows behind him. “Im hoping, for one damn day we can have some peace without too many interruptions, want some coffee?” He said nonchalantly as he pulled the covers back and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, feet hitting the floor with a gentle thud.

 

“Depends how you're planning on making me it. The american way or the proper way.” She sighed, pulling the covers back so she could lie flat on her belly elbows propped up near the foot of the bed as she watched the naked man from her bed plod over to the coffee machine, eyes not so subtly enjoying the show.  _ He's got such a nice bum, can you imagine what that would look like in a well fitted suit? Squeezable, squishable, deliciously grabable, shut up you sound like an idiot, oh hello morning glory you're more awake than the both of us right now mister. _

 

“You mean to say you don't have it black? Typical british.”

 

“Ugh no, unlike the bitter man you are im sweet and i have mine with milk and sugar. Two pleaseee.” She grinned cheekily as Leonard raised both eyebrows at her in mock offence.

 

“See i don't know about you being sweet, that was just plain rude.” He grumbled half heartedly not being able to stop a small smile spread as he heard her laugh from the bed.

 

“Well he thinks im sweet.” she pointed.

 

Leonards eyebrows met his hairline as he half laughed, glancing down at himself he shook his head. “Well the rest of me thinks you're an ass.” He glanced over seeing her laying with her head on her hands with the cheekiest smile, her hair covering her shoulder and her peach of an ass in perfect view. Looking back down he muttered to himself with a smirk. “An ass with an ass.”

 

“Heard that!” She stuck her tongue out at him jumping off the bed and pattering over to where he was making the coffees, looking down at the worktop skeptically before grabbing her cup. “This has sugar in it right? Good.” She hummed after taking a sip, swaying her hips ever so slightly as the hot drink made its way down, there was a certain warm happy feeling that related to coffee on a morning, the fact she wasn't drinking it alone might have also had something to do with it. Leonard watched her with fondness as she swayed, eyes closed and naked in the middle of her room with a coffee mug at her lips and the most gorgeous smile on her face.  _ That right there is something worthwhile.  _

 

“The word you're looking for is thankyou.”

 

“Told you. B i t t e r.” She mouthed at him mockingly taking a step back as he threatened to come towards her and take her coffee off her. “But thankyou.” she stepped forward and gave him a light kiss, Leonard still found it endearing how she had to ever so slightly go on her tiptoes to kiss him. Before she put the cup down and walked past him giving his ass a quick squeeze as she waltzed to the bathroom making him jump a bit. She smirked over her shoulder at him cockily before the door closed.  _ I'm not the only ass with a nice ass McCoy. _

 

“I'm not a piece of meat.” He called after her hearing her giggle as he got back into bed and got comfy again, to chat sleep or whatever he didnt care, he just wanted today to be easy for once. Especially for her. He smiled to himself as she walked out of the bathroom making a beeline to her bed at lighting speed, one arm across her chest to stop her breasts from bouncing too much as she moved. 

 

She hummed thoughtfully as she got into bed before turning to Leonard with a hard to read look about her. “What- no never mind.” she shut herself down sinking down a bit further under the covers.

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing, it's too personal.” she grimaced slightly at the question bouncing round in her head and how intrusive it was, she should've even thought about asking him in the first place.

 

“You see i always thought relationships were kinda personal, at least the kind where you're physical with- don't give me that look, you understand my point, spit it out, we're officially an item now, and no couple lasts if they don't talk to each other.” Leonard raised both brows at her in encouragement as she offered him a small smile with an eye roll, she knew he was right. Whatever it was he could deal with it, bad or good, they had to at least be able to talk about the bad if they stood any chance of lasting long term, no matter how uncomfortable the topic.

 

“Fine… i was just wondering what happened with you and your ex wife, why did you divorce?” her voice got low as she finished her sentence, not worried that Leonard would react badly but more disappointed that she felt the need to know, she'd let her curiosity get the better of her. She didn't have any questions about Leonard being a good man, far from it. Maybe she just wanted to know why she was the only one since his ex wife to get close? What had made him so wary of women, what had really happened? His soft sigh would have made her wince if he was anyone else.

 

“Its a pretty long story so I'll try cut it down as much as i can. We were highschool sweethearts, you know the couple in school that end up staying together and getting married, anyway we did all that, had our own place, had a kid. Jo must have been about 2 when things started to change, i was working more than usual, not home as much as i should have been. I thought everything was fine obviously, until Nancy started getting really distant with me, she'd barely talk to me anymore, something was off, i tried talking to her about it, i stopped taking extra shifts and only went into work when i was needed… Which was still too much apparently. Anyway one day i get home way earlier than usual, stopped by the shop to get her flowers to try and cheer her up from this slump she seemed to be in.” Leonards eyes zoned out on a far point on the wall across from them, as his mouth dropped into a thin line. “I walk in and she's nowhere to be seen so i go all over the house looking for her and i hear her laughing from our bedroom, i open the door to find her sat in some strangers lap…” He trailed whergith a shrug. “The rest as they say is history.” 

 

“She cheated on you?! After all those years? Was she even sorry why that-”

 

Leonard laughed at Alex's rage. “Calm down woman this happened years ago now. But yea, cheated on me, i don't think she was sorry not by how she was telling me it was my fault she'd resorted to it in the first place. I dont remember her getting so bitter, but when i thought about it afterwards i should have guessed sooner, she'd always want to know how long I'd be staying at work, and had started being more well… let's say she was barely ever in the mood the couple of months before shit hit the fan. Probably because she was getting it regularly off god knows how many guys… Honestly, i could have understood her falling out of love with me, after all those years, even since high school. Maybe she felt trapped or like shed rushed into things? I don't know, maybe the regret made her bitter because the Nancy i married would have never have tried to stop me from seeing my baby girl.” Alex could see Leonards conflicted emotions clear as day as a frown creased his brow, his eyes glazed over as he mindlessly contemplated where everything went wrong. She could see the pain, the heartbreak, the confusion and anger all swimming in his eyes.

 

“Well she lost that battle you still get to see Jo, but youre right. She sounds like she changed into a completely different person than anyone you'd ever consider being with. You didn't deserve any of that Leonard. I hope you know you're a good father, you do everything you can for that little girl and she loves you for it, it's obvious.” Alex smiled fondly at him squeezing his hand in hers under the duvet. The hardness in his eyes softened as he looked her way, squeezing back on the slender hand intertwined with his own.

 

“ Do a lot of people know how sickly sweet you can be or is this just saved for me?” He smiled jokingly.

 

“Shut up you, i can't have you thinking for a second that you deserved any of that. You may hide your feelings from everyone else on this godforsaken ship but i forbid you to hide them from me. You hear me?” She prodded him in the chest playfully as he chuckled at her.

 

“Yes ma'am, just so long as you dont hide yours from me. You don't have to act tough around me darlin’ i know you're struggling.” He met her eyes as he squeezed her hand seeing her lip tremble slightly as he spoke. “And just so you know, you're the last person that deserved to have this happen to them.” He stroked the side of her head gently as he spoke, his fingers gliding over the smooth scar tissue and short hairs. Pulling her into a tight embrace as she sucked in a shaky breath, squeezing her eyes shut in the crook of his neck, he wrapped his arms around her pulling her onto his chest. 

 

“When we get to new Vulcan, will you do some tests? I want to know if i can ever…” she trailed off through watery eyes not even wanting to think about how she might never be able to have children being a very real possibility.

 

“Yea, i will. Don't think about that right now though. The trial, everything is on hold until you've had something to eat and i've made you laugh at least 5 times.” Leonard raised his brows as he shot out of bed to put his clothes on running around like a mad man and throwing clothes at Alex on the bed till she had a bra in her lap and her trousers hanging off her head.

 

She giggled lightly. “Alright to the mess hall it is.”

 

“After you've got dressed, i know it's getting close to christmas but you really should consider getting the crew a different gift, i really don't want to see the fellas on this ship with hard ons for my misses.” Leonard grimaced at the thought smirking as she burst out laughing while clasping her bra.

 

“I'll save that gift for you don't worry, I'll put a bow on it and everything.” she giggled as she shuffled around looking up to see Leonard with raised brows and wondering eyes,  _ clearly someone was having filthy thoughts. _

 

“if you wrap yourself up in a bow for me for christmas, lord help me…” he couldn't get the mental image out of his head, worse than that it kept morphing into different images all more filthy than the last.  _ You put a bow on that ass and get on your knees i'll bend you over- bury your face in the sheets while i- pretty little red bow to keep your wrists tied behind your back- fucking hell we're going to get lunch you're not going to demolish her- i mean- that's an idea, one that i haven't had the chance to indulge in yet. _

 

“Glad you approve.” She smirked seeing what looked like the start of a situation down South.

 

“Turns out there's a change of plans, we're eating out.” Leonard said matter of factly as he walked over to her casually.

 

“Wait how we're on a-”

 

“More specifically, I'm eating out.” His voice dropped an octave as he pushed her back against the mattress, more than happy that she'd only managed to put a bra on and nothing else as he settled himself between her legs and peppered kisses down her stomach. The only response he got was some sort of strained groan as he found his way to her inner thigh, smirking against her skin as her arousal hit his nose.

 

“I hate you.” She muttered half heartedly, her eyes clocking brown ones smiling from between her legs.

 

“I know.” He hummed before burying his face exactly where he wanted it to be, tongue lapping and swirling over the sensitive nub as he groaned into her,  _ christ she tastes divine.  _ The gasps and whines were loud and absolutely addictive to his ears, he could feel how tense she was trying not to grind down into his mouth. “That's it, jesus christ…” He growled, grabbing at her hips he ground her down into his face, a hand coming up to lock in his hair not a second later as a breathy whine filled the room.  _ Fuck me i don't want to stop, i want to taste her on my tongue after shes came for the 5th time, keep making those sweet noises Ace and i'm gunna lose it. I'm gunna lose-  _

  
  


“Slow down or I-” Alex panted hand fisting his hair relentlessly as he didn't slow down his assault for one second, a teasing finger joining his mouth, circling around the very edge of her entrance but never delving in, but god it sort of felt better that way. “Leonard- what're you-”

 

“You gunna make a mess? What happens if i don't slow down?” He practically groaned into her, nose buried in the strip of red hair as he picked up the pace and pressure.

 

_ He talks like that with his face between my legs- im gunna have him down there more often- Jesus-  _ Alex let out a small whimper as all the sensations continued, the delicious pressure coiling in her belly like a spring was just about ready to snap, she could feel herself twitching without meaning too, her eyes snapped open as the familiar heat started building rapidly, every kitten lick and lap bringing her closer to tipping point as her breathing only got more erratic. “Leonard- Oh God-” her vision flashed  white, she may have been making the most pornographic sounds ever, but my god this was the hardest she'd ever came. And the image she was presented with was gunna be burned into her brain for the rest of her life, Leonard McCoy, full beard frowning in concentration with his eyes closed in bliss, right between her thighs, his mustache tickling her every so often as he moaned into her. She felt a hand glinding down the length of her back only just realising how far she'd arched off the bed as she started to come down, breathing heavily even as he placed kisses down her thighs. “If we ever get into a fight and you want forgiving, just do that.” She breathed out as she sunk into the duvet in defeat.

 

Leonard chuckled as he leaned up, wiping his mouth on his arm as he raised a brow at her with the smuggest smirk she'd ever seen. Before he slid off the side of the bed, shifting uncomfortably at how tight his trousers were. He'd genuinely been close himself, which was a first without being touched whatsoever for him, he may be a little embarrassed that the sounds she was making under him and the friction from laying flat on the bed had got him a lot more hot and bothered than he'd ever been before. Not that He'd admit to any of that. A hand reached out and grabbed him by the waist band. Only just clocking the fact shed sat up with the most sultry look on her face as she shimmied him till he was in front of her, undoing his button and zip in a flash, before he knew it cold air hit his cock. And a hand wrapped around his length.

 

_ Fuck- good god- “ _ Alex i-” he choked out, unable to form a coherent sentence as the red head stroked him gently, green eyes looking up at him as she rolled his balls in her other hand. “I'm not gunna last long.” He admitted, feeling his knees wobbling slightly as he leaned into her touch, he needed her to move faster, he needed the friction, he'd been so close, it ached. He needed to come. Now.  _ Fuck- just- turn her over- no do it yourself- on her face- her mouth _

 

“That doesn't matter, do what you need to. Or tell me what you need. Now.” it was an order, not that he needed any time to decide anyway, his brain had long since shut down and his dick had took the wheel as he grabbed her by the hair and yanked her forward till she was looking up at him, other hand pumping himself hard as he growled. He was shaking,  _ so close. _

 

“Open your mouth.” He ground out, already pressing forward even as he spoke, hand holding red hair in a makeshift ponytail as he thrust into the wet heat without so much as a warning. “Fuck, fuck, ah-”  _ Holy mother of-  _  Alex moaned around his length and that was it, he pushed forward one last time and felt his soul nearly leave his body as she swallowed everything down. He couldn't find the will to give a shit at how loud he'd just moaned, not when he was buried down this beautiful minxs throat.

 

She licked her lips as he pulled away smiling coyly at him as he tried to get his breathing under control. “So, Lunch?”

* * *

Please leave a review, let me know how in doing!

 


	23. Changes

Ive took so long to update this and i guess i dont have an excuse. Its going down an emotional rollacoater atm and i guess i havent been in the right mindset to write the more depressing parts and been wanting to focus on happy things for the characters. But its important they all get through this shit first so ill save the happy times for after the struggle. Hope you all enjoy x

* * *

Nyota eyed the pair suspiciously from her workstation, something was different between them. She could just feel it. Jim was smiling ever so brightly as usual but the lingering glances at Spock, every excuse to casually touch him when he could it was just  _more_  than usual. She didnt know what the shift was as she side eyed them hidden by the rim of her coffee mug but she could definitely feel a change. She just couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Picking up her data padd her fingers danced on the keys for a brief second before the message to Alex sent, hoping some gossip such as this would help keep her mind from wandering to much in these next few days, maybe it'd help her stay grounded a little bit. Nyota hoped so. Though she secretly needed Alex to be able to talk about this change with her, because she wasn't quite over spock yet. She was getting there but still not at the finishing line she needed to be able to lean on the ropes of their friendship a little if what she thought was happening had happened, like a boxer catching their breath after being winded she needed this one last breath before standing up and landing the finishing blow. She just hoped Alex would understand, better yet, would be able to cope with a little extra stress. Nyota felt impossibly selfish for needing this from her friend at such a difficult time but she couldn't help it, in all honesty Alex was the only close female friend she had. Not realising she'd been holding her breath she let out a huge sigh as her data padd made a gentle buzzing sound and Alex's name flashed across the screen, a small smile graced Nyotas lips before she got back to work.

* * *

Alex couldn't help holding her breath as she walked into the mess hall with Leonard, she heard the room suddenly go quiet before the noise picked back up again and she knew she was the gossip on everyone's lips and she hated it. She could feel eyes on her as they grabbed food, it even making her skin crawl long after they'd sat down. She didn't think she'd mind that much, but she did. Maybe it was because not all of the crew knew exactly what had happened, or because it was so personal for her she felt like her entire life was now this joke book that everyone was laughing at. She didn't want to be laughed at, she didn't want sympathy she just wanted to move on. Move on and forget about it all. Move on on her own, deal with the pain in private without having every whisper remind her that she'd been lied to her entire life, or that she'd been a targeted by a sick extremist. She was that distracted and withdrawn in her own bubble she hadn't realised Leonard was trying to speak to her till she looked up at his concerned face.

"Im sorry, what did you say?" She smiled weakly, suddenly losing her appetite.

"I didn't say anything... Alex. What's wrong? You've shut down, i didn't want to force you into hibernation mode, if this is too much we can go eat in our room." Leonards voice was warm and soothing and something about it made her relax a little, breathe a little more evenly as she looked up fondly into brown eyes at the words 'our room'.

"I'm okay i just, i don't like being the centre of all gossip when its about something so… Personal. They're all whispering about it Leonard, i can hear them." And she really could hear them all. Every word said under a hushed breath. Some caring, others harsh and judgmental, some distraught at what she'd had to suffer through, others disbelieving she'd lived this long without knowing she was half Vulcan.

_How could she be so stupid to not realise she wasn't a human, the ears are a pretty huge giveaway, she's a doctor for fuck sake._

_How could someone do that to somebody else, you know he drugged her and carved it in with a scalpel._

_Did you know she'd dated that Vulcan that we rescued from floating around in space? I mean like that other Vulcan we have in the brig just decided that he didn't like them mixed up together so much that he'd do something like that. Makes me sick, you didn't know he poisoned her because she was pregnant?_

_Not meaning to be nasty but im glad shes been taken down a peg or two, her ego was far to big she was so annoying, i can't believe she's got Mccoy wrapped around her finger, like there wasn't other pretty women on this ship before she turned up._

_You know she bit off that bastard ear? Well the tip of it? Yea man, she's a total badass, i mean i don't blame her for losing her shit._

_I absolutely can't believe that happened to her, it makes me want to cry just thinking about it...i've had a miscarriage before, but that… that's something else, how could he be so cruel, i think i'd have killed him if i was in her shoes. She's so strong._

_What a freak. Look at her she just loves to be the centre of attention no matter what type of attention it is, i bet she isn't even a half vulcan it's just some bullshit to make people feel sorry for her. How dense can you be to believe a lie for so long._

_Hey, don't be like that just because you don't like her, if someone lied to you your entire life about something you'd believe it as well, quit acting like billy big bollocks, asshole._

She recognised that last voice and it made her smile crookedly as she pictured the lanky gangly blonde she knew all too well from working around him most days, she felt tears well up knowing that he'd sprung to her defense so readily, along with so many others that she'd never met or spoke too, despite the sea of hate and judgement from others there was still good and understanding crew members all around her, standing in her corner. She'd have to make sure to thank lanky Adam in person when she got back to med bay for jumping to her defense like that. He'd shut the guy up almost instantly as well. She had to cling to that, even if she hated the details of her messed up life being known by everyone, at least there was kind people out there. She had to cling to the good, if she gave in to the bad even once she'd be buried in it.

"Ace, don't cry, cmon lets head back. Don't listen to em, they're all bitter bastards."

"Im fine, im good honestly-" she sucked in a deep breath and held the tears at bay, willing herself to stay strong in a room full of people and especially for Leonard, he'd already been through so much stress because of her she'd do her damn best to not cause any more of it. "Thanks for dragging me out though, i needed to get out of that room."

"Don't mention it, sweetheart." He smiled fondly with a cheeky wink which made her go a little pink in the cheeks.

"Stop calling me thatttt." She hissed quietly leaning towards him ever so slightly as his smirk grew, a hint of playfulness returning to her eyes.

"Never, because i think you like it, you just don't want to admit it."

"Because there's nothing to admit to." She smirked back at him but the smile didn't seem to reach her eyes like it normally did. Leonard paused for a second, searching her face as his finger gently brushed against hers on the table, the tiniest of contact somehow holding such a profound meaning as he saw her eyes change from pained to glassy.

His voice grew sombre and he was quiet when he spoke. "What is it, what are you thinking about?"

The sigh that left her lips felt like it hung between them for days before she finally spoke, a small request under her breath, a private request, a question that she needed answering. "I want you to run the tests tonight… Please."

Leonards ring finger ghosted over her pinky as his eyes fell to their hands, so close but barely touching, cautious but needing as she brushed her index finger across his knuckles. He noticed her jagged nails, no doubt from biting and his eyes met hers in understanding.  _Okay._

_Thankyou._

"Do you want anyone else to be there or-"

"No- Just us, just, something i'd rather deal with with as little people as possible around me, i'm tired of putting on a mask, if the news is bad- I'll-"

"Hey, we cross that bridge when we come to it, yea, your damn right i said we, im not letting you deal with this alone,  _you don't have to wear a mask around me, sweetheart."_

She smiled then, smiled with her eyes. And Leonard didn't know how but as her fingers linked with his own across the table he could  _feel_  her smile, her gratitude, seep into him deep in his bones, it was like stepping into a pool of warm water, and laying back as your muscles finally relaxed and your eyes closed, and then it was gone. He couldn't help but blink and question if it had been real, their hands weren't even touching now, and though she was still smiling fondly at him a part of him yearned for whatever that had been back, like a part of him was missing without the connection, whatever the hell it had been.  _Wait, did we just-_

* * *

Nyota looked at Alex with concern as they sat down in the mess hall, it was Nyotas lunch break and since Alex was free all day Nyota had asked if she'd like to come to lunch with her, it's not like the redhead had to have a second meal or anything Nyota just wanted the company. It wasn't even just because of the message she'd sent about Jim and Spock but because she was really worried. Alex seemed off, really off, but she wasnt ready to talk and Nyota didn't want to bring it up if she wasn't ready.

"So, what do you mean, something's changed?" Alex poked her carrot sticks around a little as she leaned closer to Nyota across their shared table. Nyota grimaced a little, it was weird hearing it said out in the open.

"I'm not too sure, somethings just different, they're acting stranger than usual."

"Aren't they always a little odd with one another?" Alex questioned wanting to get a feel for the situation, wondering if maybe Nyota was just being paranoid.

"Yea but this is more than that, its like something's happened, they're being odd in different ways. Like the Captain seems almost giddy…"

Alex paused before replying, making a mental note of how Nyota had said captain instead of Jim. This must have really been affecting her more than she wanted to let on, especially if she was already distancing herself from the situation before even knowing for sure. "You're not quite over him yet, are you?" She spoke gently with a comforting smile.

Nyota sighed, of course she couldn't hide anything from her, they'd spent so much time together and she was a psychologist as well as a medical doctor for god sake. "No, not yet." She admitted, suddenly losing her appetite as she pushed her food away. "It's not like i didn't see this coming, i think even Leonard could see this coming and he's- well you know what he's like with noticing things socially at times."

Alex laughed lightly and nodded "If something has happened what would you do? Hypothetically of course until we know for sure?" Alex leaned forward slightly completely in her element without Nyota even noticing a shift in her demeanor.

"What? I wouldn't do anything, it's none of my business and i hope they make eachother happy, although… I think I'd have a word with the captain. Maybe. Probably."

"Why's that?"

"You've seen how much he flirts right?... He's got a bit of a reputation for being a ladies man if you know what i mean. The second time i met him he was in bed with my roommate… actually she kinda reminds me of you a bit..."

"You're getting a bit off topic here, but i bet your roommate was a tone of fun with a kicker of a personality. Anyway, so Jim used to be a bit frisky have you seen or heard about him being with anyone since the academy?" Alex gave Nyota finger guns before crossing her arms again as her professional facade fell perfectly into place.

"No but… i just don't want him to hurt Spock, i don't want it to end badly for either of them really…" Nyota trailed off, shed never felt so conflicted in her life, she had always prided herself on understanding her own emotions thoroughly but she felt really out of her comfort zone at the moment, she didn't really understand much of what she was feeling about the situation.

"It sounds to me as though you're more over him than you think, with how accepting you're being even while having some conflicting emotions." Alex said matter of factly as she sat back popping a carrot stick into her mouth.

Nyota looked up with a skeptical stare. "Did you just assess me? Psychologically?" She didn't know if she was annoyed or impressed or thankful and that in itself frustrated her a little bit.

"Not officially, just more of an educated observation from a friend? You're dealing with the possibility really well is all im saying, and i'm here for you of you ever need to rant about anything no matter how small or stupid you think it is."

Nyota managed a small smile at that, pushing past her momentary annoyance at her friend for going psychiatrist mode on her. She was genuinely just trying to help, of course she was. It was Alex, her friend.

"Anyway enough about me and whatever this thing is, how are you? Any news on the trial, Jim told me they were trying to bring it forward so you don't have to go through it while on shore leave."

 _Ah, the trial._ "Basically that's all there is to know, its happening on new vulcan but i'm pretty sure some starfleet admirals are going to be there to oversee the whole thing, make sure its a fair hearing and such, they're also making sure the jury isn't just composed of vulcans, though im hoping any sane vulcan would be able to judge fairly from the reports. Its funny because when the captain was telling me this it didn't feel like any of it was going in at all but i guess it did ha." Alex let out a puff of air as a short laugh before looking down at the table with a disgruntled look on her face.

"Hey, don't worry about it okay, you have me as a witness, and the rest of them saw what he was doing… just listen okay, there is no way he is getting away with this. It's not gunna happen."

Nyota reached across the table and held Alex's hand firmly as she saw her friend let out a shaky breath, before she dropped her hand like she'd been stung. Alex looked up apologetically at Nyotas perplexed face.

"Sorry, since the incident i haven't had much of a choice in emotional transference, i need to get on top of it, sorry."

"Its okay, honestly… Maybe Spock can help, have you ever thought of asking him?" Nyotas tone was warm and assuring, just enough for Alex to hang on to the thin shreds of patience she had left with herself, it was frustrating not being in full control, always in the brink of collapse, the sooner she accepted everything the sooner she could start to feel better. But how could she accept everything that monster had done to her?

"I'm hoping i don't need to, i never really had issues with it before, well… I just thought i had a slight gift in judging people's emotions, but apparently it's been there all along, just quietly working in hibernation mode or whatever i guess." Alex sighed pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Everything is changing and i don't want it to change."

"Hey, not everything is changing. Focus on grounding yourself on the things that are still the same, i'm still me, Leonard is still Leonard. And you're still yourself despite any changes going on, you're still you."

"Still in this tin can of a ship floating around in the vacuum of space." Alex muttered under her breath earning a snort off Nyota.

"Wow, i can see why Leonard's with you now, it all makes so much more sense." she teased, earning a playful smirk and a small laugh from her pointy eared friend sat across from her.  _She's gunna be okay, maybe not soon, but she is gunna be okay, i just know it._

* * *

"So she's okay?" Came the relieved sigh from the data padd as Leonard sighed, leaning back in his office chair, of course he'd get called in on his day off. Typical. But this this was something he had to excuse himself for, a call he had to take in private for Alex's sake.

"Yea, She's as okay as she can be right now, look i don't know if you should call her yet-"

"I've been trying but she's been ignoring my calls ever since you sent me the message telling me she was safe."

"That's exactly my point, if she's been ignoring your calls maybe this is something you need to let her come to you in her own time with." Leonard frowned in slight frustration, he completely understood why Alex's dad wanted to see his daughter he really did, he wanted to know for sure that she was alright, Leonard would be the same if it something had happened to Jo, but Jo was 9. Alex was nearly 30 and was safe and this situation wasn't exactly simple, to put it bluntly.

"I know you're sleeping with my daughter Doctor Mccoy but don't for one second act like you know her better than i do-"

Leonards brows shot up at that, a sudden fury spiked in his gut but he didn't shout. "With all due respect, I'm not the one whos lied to her face her entire life about what she is,  _Sir._ And secondly as the doctor who saw out her treatment when she returned to the ship, along with a handful of my trusted colleagues who are privy to the workings of not only the mind but the  _Vulcan_ mind, it's paramount she doesn't experience any unnecessary stress.  _Especially_ in these first few days. So you're gunna have to just accept the fact she's back and she's safe as all you need to know for the time being." Leonard snapped in his half rant. Watching as the man on the screen recoiled slightly and sighed in defeat. Maybe he'd been to harsh? But it seemed like the only way he was going to understand the gravity of the situation.

"The Vulcan mind- shit- look i'm sorry, she's my little girl i just need to know she's okay you know, you can always be told your kids okay but you only know if you're looking at them with your own two eyes, never mind you don't understand-"

"No i do understand, but your little girl is almost 30, and she's just went through a very real very traumatic event that's probably going to change her life, this isn't something you can rush to fix, you have to give it the time it needs. I'm sorry i can't tell you more about what happened, im bound by patient confidentiality and personally i think Alex would rather tell you when shes ready."

The older mans face softened slightly as his eyes seemed to look right through Leonard, searching for something. "You have kids?"  _god damn why does her entire family have the ability to look right through people._

"Yea, got a little girl back on earth."

The older man just nodded sincerely without saying a word a soft smile swiftly coming and going as quick as the wind changed directions in the winter.

"I forgot to ask, what's your name? she hasn't actually got around to telling me and i'd rather not have you down as 'Alex's dad' for the remainder of this trip." Leonard grumbled As the man on the screen chuckled at him.

"Typical Ace, the names Arthur, Arthur Reid."

Leonard changed the name on screen and then sighed pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration before groaning to himself. "Look i'm gunna level with you, when you find out what happened, you're not gonna like it. But as a dad myself i need to tell you this now, don't do anything stupid. No matter how angry you are you gotta make sure to stop yourself from doing shit out of rage, everything is on the road to being sorted out and you don't want to disrupt the flow or there could be hell on."

"It's like you're talking in damn riddles…But alright… i'll do my best, thanks for calling Mccoy."

With a nod at the older man he ended the call. God when had everything gotten so complicated? He blamed that good for nothing Vulcan they currently had in the brig. That son of a bitch. Why did he have to go intervening in people's lives like he was god. Leonard pinched his nose in frustration before he got up to leave, he'd done what he was asked here to do he wasn't planning on staying the entire work day.

* * *

Spock saw the symbol pop up on his screen while on the bridge noticing it was from Dr Reid he opened the file without hesitation. His eyebrows rising a fraction as he quickly skimmed the text on the screen.  _She is ready for my assistance._ Typing a quick reply he pressed send with vigor, feeling a certain protectiveness pass over him remembering exactly what had made her need his help in the first place, he spared a glance at Jim, comforted by the bright smile he wore as he spoke with the rest of the crew.  _So many things are changing, i hope they are for the better._ As blue eyes met his own he was confident the times ahead would be better than the times behind them.


End file.
